Man held in killing of 4 near Cocoa

Suspect’s daughter and ex-girlfriend among those found fatally shot

A Rockledge father was arrested Wednesday after he killed his 15-year-old daughter, ex-girlfriend and two others in a home near Cocoa, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.

Domenico Gigante, 36, faces four counts of first-degree murder for fatally shooting 15-year-old Kiarra Terwilliger and her mother, Constance Terwilliger, a woman he was in a previous relationship with, according to Ivey.

Gigante also allegedly killed Glenda Terwilliger, 63, and Michael Andrew Watson, 36, Ivey said in a Facebook live video.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with this family as they face this most difficult time,” Ivey said. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through having lost their entire family in this capacity.”

Deputies responded to a home on Alan Shepard Avenue and Canaveral Groves shortly before 2 a.m. and found the bodies.

Two children, ages 9 and 6, were at the home and were not hurt, Ivey said. One of the two surviving children called a relative to report what had happened inside the house.

The relative rushed to the home and called 911 after finding the bodies.

According to an arrest affidavit, deputies found two of the victims lying in their beds and the other two on the living room floor.

Deputies identified Gigante as Kiarra Terwilliger’s father and went to his Rockledge home to notify him of her death. Relatives said Gigante had been trying to get back into his daughter’s life but she refused.

After the notification, he went inside to grab his keys and his roommate asked Gigante if he killed his daughter. The roommate later told detectives that Gigante said he shot her three times, according to the affidavit.

The roommate also told investigators that on Monday Gigante was expressing his frustrations with his daughter and her family.

“I guess I am going to go over there and kill them all,” Gigante told the roommate, according to the affidavit.

Ring videos showed Gigante’s truck in the area of the home where the homicide occurred, the affidavit said. They also showed him leaving and entering his home with what appeared to be a gun, investigators said.

Ivey described Gigante as “an extremely violent individual with an extremely violent past.”

He said Gigante was arrested in 2005 for domestic violence and battery.

He was also arrested in 2008 for multiple counts of cruelty to animals, and in 2012 for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault.

“I’ve said this before: If you are the capacity of a person that you can harm an animal, you will hurt a human being and this individual is living proof of that statement,” he said.