Mom: Vet accused of killing son had PTSD, was ‘spiraling down’
The “shocked” mother of a dad who police say gunned down his 6-yearold son before killing himself described her son as a “wonderful” man whose post-Iraq War battle with post- traumatic stress disorder spiraled out of control in recent months.
“He was a little messed up when he came back from Iraq,” Diane Usevic, 72, told the Herald in an interview yesterday, “but he was a wonderful, wonderful guy. He was so close to his son; he was never, ever without him. He loved that child. He was loved by everybody and his son was his life.”
Usevic’s son, William Scaccia, 49, shot his son Anthony, 6, in the side of the head late Thursday night at the boy’s Foxboro home, police said. He then attempted to set the house on fire before authorities say he fatally shot himself in the head in a bedroom.
The father and child will be buried together in the same plot in a cemetery reserved for veterans, Usevic said. She would not divulge any further details.
The Department of Children and Families became involved with the family several years ago, and said yesterday it is still working with law enforcement on the case.
Scaccia suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Usevic said, and his life had recently taken a dark turn after he lost his job as a climbing instructor a few months ago. When his girlfriend ended their relationship the week before the incident, her son was “absolutely lost,” forcing the family to make a desperate plea for Scaccia to seek help.
“I talked to him the day he did it,” Usevic said. “I said to my daughter, ‘He’s going to kill himself, he’s spiraling down deeply into a depression.’ She said she would talk to him, but she could not get through, she could not get through. And he somehow got his hands on a gun.”
Usevic said Scaccia repeatedly refused help and only received Prozac — an antidepressant — when he visited a hospital run by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
“We weren’t sure, we just suspected that he was that depressed,” she said, noting she saw a number of troubling recent social media posts. “It happened so fast. Things went wrong in Billy’s life and he started to spiral into a depression and no one in the family could talk him into going to get help. He started getting really dark and negative.”
Scaccia served in the U.S. Army, with tours in Egypt and Iraq, Usevic said. He graduated from Northeastern University with degrees in nursing and speech pathology and had never been convicted of a crime, despite being involved in several domestic incidents involving Anthony’s mother, according to Foxboro police.
After Scaccia’s estranged wife took out a restraining order against him in 2013, cops seized a total of 14 guns plus ammo— valued at more than $7,000 — including one they said Scaccia attempted to conceal as officers spoke to him, court records show.
Scaccia leaves behind two sisters, Usevic said, and the family will try to cope with the tragedy.
“I lost my 13-year-old son in 1987 to a drunk driver, and I moved on from that in great pain and I have to move on from this,” the elderly Norwood resident said. “All you can do is move forward, you don’t have a choice.”