Patrick Biller

Background

Patrick J. Biller was a telephone repairman and Bell Atlantic technician who worked making service calls at homes and businesses in the Yonkers area. He was described as a scary individual by co-worker Brian Abdallah and as a meticulous householder and neat man by neighbors.

Neighbours and acquaintances described Biller as quick tempered, unpredictable, and prone to anger. Abdallah said, "He was unpredictable. He had some temper. He explodes at people. He cursed at the boss and walked out of the office." Pete Anselmo, a neighbor who had known the family for 25 years, said: "The guy might have been calling out for help, and nobody listened to him." Anselmo also said: "You just don't do things like this. You'd think that if you couldn't take it anymore, you'd kill yourself. But why these kids? Why these beautiful kids?"

Biller had mounting health and financial pressures. He developed a heart condition and had as many as six bypass operations. He underwent a kidney operation that did not go too well and a gallbladder operation. Neighbors said he had suffered two heart attacks recently and had been on disability leave from Bell Atlantic since undergoing open heart surgery in September. While he was to return to work this month, he was also troubled by an apparent failure of his marriage.

Biller’s wife, Maureen Biller, developed breast cancer. Maureen was described by acquaintances as friendly, courteous, and thoughtful, and she volunteered time for charity work. Lynn Stone, speaking for the Jewish Guild for the Blind, said she had assisted handicapped people with physical therapy and other assistance.

A co-worker said Biller was driven to commit family annihilation by mounting health and money problems and said: "His health was deteriorating. He had financial pressures of school tuition, a mortgage and lack of overtime due to light duty. He just couldn't see an alternative."

Biller’s marriage problems were also described. Catherine Miaris recalled that her son George was a close friend of Erin and that Erin had told her two months earlier that her parents were talking of divorce. Catherine Miaris said: "She was hysterical, crying." Catherine Miaris said she later learned from Erin’s morning conversation that her mother was going to see a lawyer. Catherine Miaris said the threat of divorce had apparently receded and quoted: "The father said he would fight the wife," and said he did not want to be dragged through the courts. Catherine Miaris said, "They were supposed to be getting a divorce, but they decided I guess that they wouldn't."

The offence

Police reported that Biller shot his wife and three children to death in their family apartment before dawn. Officers found the bodies of Patrick J. Biller and his wife, Maureen, 49, in the living room. In one bedroom, the couple’s son Patrick Jr., 20, was sprawled on the floor. In a second bedroom, two daughters, Erin, 14, and Courtney, 8, lay dead in their beds. The children and wife had been shot in the head with a pistol found beside Patrick J. Biller. The police said Biller had apparently committed suicide after methodically slaying his family.

A New York Daily News account said a Yonkers father shot and killed his wife and three children as they slept in their Westchester home just before dawn, then turned the gun on himself. Police identified the gunman as Patrick Biller, 53, a Bell Atlantic technician who had health and marital problems and sometimes flashed an uncontrollable temper, according to neighbors and friends.

The Daily News account said sources said Biller used a .38-caliber handgun, although police did not immediately confirm what type of gun was found at the scene.

Investigation

Yonkers police officers broke into the apartment after being alerted by a mother-in-law who shared the two-family house and said she had heard what sounded like firecrackers upstairs. Detective Capt. George Rutledge said at a news conference that the police had little doubt about what had happened but had not determined the motive for the killings. The Daily News account said: "All evidence suggests . . . a murder-suicide," said Yonkers Police Capt. George Rutledge.

Arrest

No arrest was described.

Trial

No trial was described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

The killings ended with Biller’s suicide on the same day as the family slaying. The New York Times described that he killed himself in the family’s apartment before dawn after shooting his wife and children. The status provided described him committing suicide by shooting himself the same day Patrick J. Biller shot his wife and three children.

Aftermath

The slayings stunned the neighbourhood. A neighbour, Pete Anselmo, said: "It's a shame," and said: "The guy might have been calling out for help, and nobody listened to him." Anselmo also said snapping his finger: "You just don't do things like this. But why these kids? Why these beautiful kids?"

Mrs. Mullins, Biller’s mother-in-law who occupied the ground floor, called the police. Within minutes, officers arrived. The account described officers walking through a neatly trimmed hedge and across a small front yard swept clean of leaves, then up an exterior stair to the second-floor apartment. The door was locked, and officers forced it and went in.

As word spread, the neighbourhood moved from disbelief to sobs, and neighbours recalled the family. Mrs. Biller was recalled aiding patients in wheelchairs. Patrick Jr. was recalled playing street hockey and later dating girls and learning to draw. Erin was recalled sobbing over her parents’ troubles and glowing when a boy gave her red roses. Courtney was recalled learning to swim last summer.

Catherine Miaris described breaking the news to her son George after picking him up at school. Catherine Miaris said: "What about the brother?" and that she replied: "All of them, Georgie, all of them." Catherine Miaris said George asked: "Even Courtney?" and that she was told it was "All of them, Georgie, all of them."

A Daily News account described a neighbour Donna Shine saying her husband was leaving for work about 5:30 a.m. when "he heard a bang, bang, bang" coming from the Billers’ two-family home across the street and that he heard nothing further and left, figuring "someone was fixing a jammed window or something." The Daily News account also described a neighbour saying Biller’s mother-in-law called police a few minutes later and that Yonkers cops arrived at 269 Mary Lou Ave. at 5:48 a.m. and forced entry into the second-floor apartment.

The Daily News account quoted West Wuestenhoefer describing Biller as "a good family man" and quoted him: "You wouldn't expect something like this from him," and "Kill yourself, if you want to, but don't turn the gun on your wife and kids." It also quoted Brian Abdallah: "I was scared of him," and, "He was unpredictable. He had some temper. He explodes at people. He cursed at the boss and walked out of the office."

The Daily News account described a friend of the family Dominick Vecchiarello, 69, saying Biller did not seem depressed, and said Biller and Dominick spoke every morning to compare notes on medications, since both had recently undergone open-heart surgery.

Other details

Maureen Flanagan, a spokeswoman for Bell Atlantic, said Biller joined the telephone company in October 1970 and had worked for most of the intervening years as an installer and a repairman making service calls. Flanagan said Biller went on disability leave in September and was scheduled to return to work on Dec. 15, and said she could not discuss medical details citing privacy.

Pete Anselmo said Biller seemed to have money troubles, had been out of work for a while, and said he was under pressure from bills. Anselmo said: "He had been out of work for a while," and "From what I understood, he was under a lot of pressure from bills. He had had these attacks. They were talking about retiring him, and he said he couldn't afford that."

Pete Anselmo said Biller was compulsive about neatness and quoted: "Pat was like a neat freak," and "Everything had to be perfect." He said Biller cleaned his sidewalks daily, often painted his driveway, raked leaves in the fall, and was the first to put up lights at Christmas. He said that there were no seasonal decorations up yesterday at the two-family house shared with Mrs. Biller’s mother, Blanche Mullins, who occupied the ground floor.

A neighbour George Miaris, 13, and his mother Catherine placed two bouquets of red roses outside the Billers’ home late the previous afternoon.

Biller’s son Patrick Jr. attended Westchester Community College. Erin attended Maria Regina High School in Hartsdale. Courtney attended Christ the King Elementary School in Yonkers.