NASSAU COUNTY, N.Y. – A deranged man killed three women by bludgeoning them to death with a hammer, according to reports.
The hammer-wielding man went on a bloody rampage in a suburban New York home, killing his mother, sister and another woman early Saturday, reported the New York Post.
Bobby Vanderhall, 34, was charged with murder in their deaths after police found him sleeping in a car nearby. He also was charged with trying to kill a fourth women.
One of the victims, Lynn Reichenbach-Vanderhall, had recently kicked her son Bobby out of their home on Long Island after he became increasingly violent, according to the Post.
He’s accused of flying into a rage when he showed up at the house around 2:15 a.m. Saturday and discovered the doors locked.
“He went to the garage. He obtained a large hammer,” Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, head of the Nassau County Police Homicide Squad said. “With this framing hammer, he broke through the basement door.”
Police indicated that Vanderhall attacked his mother in the living room. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
His younger sister Melissa, 28, and two friends heard the fatal attack from upstairs.
“The girls, who were all upstairs, heard what was going on in the living room,” Fitzpatrick said. “As they came to the staircase, Bobby was already coming up after them.”
Melissa and Janel Simpson, 29, were also pronounced dead at the scene.
Candace Murray, 29, fought back and ran out of the house, CBS New York reported. The New York Post referred to her as unnamed, but said her wrist was broken fending off the attack.
Lynn Reichenbach-Vanderhall taught young children at a daycare center. Her daughter was a physician’s assistant.
Fitzpatrick said Vanderhall had a history of “emotional issues.” Moreover, he’s been removed on two occasions from his mother’s home and taken to a medical center.
As a result of recent troubled behavior, Vanderhall’s mother sought a protection order along with evicting him.
He had a record of arrests for drunken driving, drug possession and sexual abuse, according to the New York Post.
Vanderhall is awaiting arraignment on three murder charges as well as one count of attempted murder.
(Photo: Lynn Reichenbach-Vanderhall, her daughter Melissa Vanderhall and friend Janel Simpson were brutally bludgeoned to death on Long Island Saturday … Facebook)