CRIES OF WHY

W’chester murder-suicide puzzles & shocks

TO HIS NEIGHBORS, Steven Dym was the kind of happy-golucky guy who walked around as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

The 56-year-old Westchester County father shattered that image Friday when he killed his wife and teenage daughter with a 12-gauge shotgun — then turned the weapon on himself.

Now Westchester cops, as well as the Dyms’ friends and neighbors, are searching for answers to explain what drove the wealthy real estate manager to slaughter two members of his family before killing himself.

“It’s a shock to everybody,” the Dyms’ next-door neighbor said Saturday.

“You hear the stories — marital problems, whatever. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors, right? But the Steven I knew was carefree, happy . . . I can’t believe he would be capable of something like this.”

Cops called to the Dyms’ sprawling Pound Ridge home found Steven’s body on the second floor, along with his wife Loretta, 50, and daughter Caroline, 18, about 11 a.m. Friday.

An autopsy by the Westchester medical examiner found that Dym murdered his wife and daughter with single shots in the midsection.

He killed himself with a shot to the head, according to New York State Police investigator Joseph Becerra.

The women’s deaths were ruled homicides and Dym’s death a suicide by the coroner.

The couple’s son William, 20, was away at the University of Southern California at the time. He arrived back home Saturday.

“We are still speaking with family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances to try and come to an understanding of why this tragedy occurred,” Becerra said.

The Dyms had recently put the $1.7 million house up for sale — sparking rumors of problems in the marriage — but nobody in the community knew anything concrete, the neighbor said.

The 4,500-square-foot home with five bedrooms, 41/2 bathrooms and a gigantic backyard pool and pergola was recently sold and its listing updated to “in contract” on several sites.

Jonathan Kurdell, 51, who lives in the area, said a real estate company sold the house on Thursday — the day before the murder-suicide.

Some locals thought the family intended to move out West to be closer to William and that Caroline wanted to attend college out there, as well.

Dym’s in-laws, William and Marilyn Rienecker, live just down the street. He paid to move them to Pound Ridge from Long Island so his wife could be closer to her family, the neighbor said.

A woman who answered the phone at the Rienecker house Saturday declined to talk about the family tragedy.

“I’m sorry. We have no comment at this time,” said the woman, who didn’t give her name.

A few hours later, a man cops identified as one of the grandparents exited a nearby house and walked to the Dym home, accompanied by a woman.

After briefly going inside, they left without a word.

A friend of Caroline — a standout golf player at Sacred Heart Greenwich, where she was about to start her senior year — stopped by with her mother to leave flowers by the stone wall around the massive house.

“She had a bubbly personality. She was really kind,” said the girl, who didn’t give her name but wrote “Love, Kate,” on the note left with the bouquet.

“I miss you so much and I wish I had the chance to say goodbye. You truly were the happiest, kindest, funniest, and most caring girl I knew. Your smile was the most beautiful and I will always remember it. I am at a loss for words, Caro, but all I can say is that I love you forever and I’ll never forget you,” the message said.

Loretta worked as vice president at Club Quarters Hotels in Manhattan.

Steven owned several apartment buildings in Queens and ran Gabriel Management, a lucrative property management company started by his dad. He grew up in the house where he ended his life, the neighbor said.

“Back then, the house was much smaller, like mine. Then he blew it up and he built this,” the next-door neighbor said.

“The last 10 years their kids went off to private school, and my kids stayed in public school, so there was a disconnect after that.”

The house had been a scene of family violence before.

In 1992, Dym’s mother attacked her husband, Lawrence Dym, with a hatchet handle inside the home, LoHud.com reported. He survived the attack and the mother was hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation, LoHud said.

Another neighbor, who identified himself as Vito, 88, recalled going into the house about a month ago when the family was selling some of their belongings.

Steven “was a very quiet man, a nice-talking man,” Vito said. “And his wife was nice to me, too.”