Suicidal NY Lawyer Kills Family in Hotel

Family was in Baltimore visiting college daughter

By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 22, 2009 1:31 AM CDT

(Newser) – A troubled Long Island attorney killed his wife, two children and himself in a Baltimore hotel, police said yesterday. "The why and the motive in this is just a big blank right now," said a police official of attorney William Parente, 59, who had an estate and tax planning practice in Manhattan. The parents "loved each other, and they loved those girls," said a Garden City neighbor.

Police did not divulge how the family died, but said they weren't shot or stabbed, reports the New York Daily News. The couple and their 11-year-old daughter traveled to Baltimore to visit their elder daughter, who was attending Loyola College there. She was also found dead in the hotel. The sophomore was "going to meet with her family, and she was happy," said a college friend. "Everything seemed okay."

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Stephanie Parente, her younger sister and mom were killed by her suicidal dad in a hotel room in Baltimore, where Stephanie was attending college, according to cops. (AP Photo/Loyola College)

William Parente was a successful attorney with a tax and estate planning practice in Manhattan. (©MileageNYC)

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She loved her daughters with every fiber of her body. This is a shock to everybody. There's nothing you could say that was wrong. - Long Island neighbor LInda Mattel, speaking of slain mom Betty Parente

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Suicidal NY Lawyer Kills Family in Hotel