Levittown Murder: 'Their Intent Was To Kill Her'

LEVITTOWN, NY – In press conference Thursday morning, Nassau police said that the two men accused of murdering an 83-year-old Levittown grandmother went to her house seeking revenge against her grandson and planned to kill her if she was there. Police said the death of the woman, who they identified as Loraine Pizzichemi, was no accident.

"They went there with the intention to rob and act out revenge against the 24-year-old male that lived there," said Nassau Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, according to Newsday. "They knew that the chance was they were going to meet the grandmother … And their intent was to kill her if she was there.”

Police arrested Benjamin Lopez, 23, of Blackbird Lane in Levittown, and Deangelo Gill, 19, of Southern Parkway in Uniondale, Wednesday night for the crime. They are each being charged with second-degree murder.

According to police, Lopez and Gill went to the house with the intention to rob it. Pizzichemi's 24-year-old grandson, who also lived there, was selling marijuana out of the house, and Lopez and Gill felt they were ripped off after a drug sale, police said. Fitzpatrick said their intent was to steal whatever money and drugs were in the house.

Police said that Lopez and Gill broke into the home and first killed Pizzichemi, stabbing her multiple times. "This poor woman didn't have a chance to defend herself," Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. "She didn't have a chance to say anything."

The two then attacked her grandson when he came home. While they were beating him, police say the grandson managed to dial 911, which alerted police to the crime. When police arrived at the Levittown home, they found Pizzichemi dead and her grandson with severe cuts to his body.

Deangelo Gill, left, and Benjamin Lopez. Photo: Nassau County Police Department.