A Long Island man beat and choked his wife and two daughters – then committed suicide – following a violent afternoon at a Maryland hotel, authorities said today.
Baltimore County police said that 59-year-old William Parente of Garden City, killed his wife, 58-year-old Betty, and their daughters, 19-year-old Stephanie and 11-year-old Catherine, in their room at the Sheraton Baltimore North on Sunday.
Cops said the woman and her two daughters died from blunt force trauma and asphyxiation and that Parente cut himself with a knife, taking his own life.
Hotel workers found the bodies Monday after the family failed to check out.
Police spokesman Mike Hill said William Parente was found in the bathroom, the three others were found on the bed.
Hill said it appears that Betty and Catherine died first and Stephanie died later on Sunday.
He said investigators do not have a motive for the grisly slayings.
The revelations about the manner in which the Parente family died came as the FBI said that it has begun an investigation of William Parente’s investment dealings, Newsday reported today on its Web site.
The feds said the probe was launched following numerous complaints from investors to police.
“We’re looking into Mr. Parente’s investment business dealings,” said FBI spokesman James Margolin.
The FBI probe comes as the New York State attorney general’s office is also reviewing a complaint that Parente was unable to return hundreds of thousands of dollars to one investor.
Newsday reported that Parente wrote checks to Queens lawyer Bruce Montague, but two checks for $250,000 bounced earlier this week.