‘SHOTGUN SLAYS’ IN COLD BLOOD
W’chester suicide dad wiped out family
The Westchester dad who murdered his wife and daughter and then killed himself inflicted the carnage using a 12-gauge shotgun, police said Saturday as grisly new details of the horror emerged.
The bodies of property manager Steven Dym, 56, wife Loretta, 50, and daughter Caroline, 18, were discovered on the second-floor landing of their sprawling Fox Hill Road home in well-heeled Pound Ridge at 11 a.m. Friday, State Police said.
Caroline and her mother were each shot once in the torso before Dym blasted himself in the head, according to police.
The couple was not go- ing through a divorce, and police said they have not received previous calls for domestic incidents involving the family.
But the family’s home was up for sale, and those who recently spoke to Steven said something seemed off.
Realtor Chris Shaffer, 42, who met Steven at a tag sale six weeks ago, said Dym acted “very weird” when asked where the family was moving.
“Not only did he not know where he was going, but he didn’t even know if he was going,” Shaffer said.
Steven may have been struggling financially, according to a police source.
The family’s house — a 4,551-square-foot home with five bedrooms, 4½ bathrooms and a giant backyard with a pool and pond — was on the market for $1.7 million. Several real estate sites said the property was in contract with a “pending” sale.
“We are still interviewing family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances, trying to understand why this tragedy occurred,” said State Police Investigator Joseph Becerra.
Distraught friends and neighbors said they never expected the violence.
“It seemed that they were very happy,” one of Loretta’s close friend, who asked that her name not be printed, said through tears. “She never really spoke about [her relationship] much. Her life was her kids. The few times I’ve met Steve Dym, he seemed like a great husband and a great father. They were both all about their kids, their kids’ futures. I would have never guessed in a million years.”
Steven was the CEO of Gabriel Management, a realestate company founded by his father, Lawrence.
Loretta was a vice president of Club Quarters Hotels in Manhattan. She also volunteered for the MakeA-Wish Foundation.
Their daughter, Caroline, was a talented student-athlete at Sacred Heart Greenwich.
“She was really genuine,” one of Caroline’s close friends said. “She was just nice to everyone . . . She was always positive.”
In November 1992, Steven’s mom, Paula, whacked his dad twice with the back of a hatchet as he slept, according to a report in The Post at the time. Paula was charged with assault and given a psychiatric evaluation.