Videos courtesy of NBC Affiliate WESH
COCOA, Fla. (WFLA) – A father has been arrested after four people were found dead inside a Florida home Wednesday morning.
According to the sheriff’s office, two adult females, an adult male, and a juvenile female were found dead inside a home on Alan Shepard Avenue in Canaveral Groves.
During a press conference, officials revealed that two small children were also inside the residence during the “extremely horrific incident.” Police said the children were unharmed.
According to Sheriff Wayne Ivey, the incident was not random and there is no threat to the public.
NBC Affiliate WESH reported that the incident came to light after authorities received a 911 call from “someone who was contacted by one of the small children inside.”
The outlet stated that the person kept the child on the video call the whole time and called 911 once they arrived at the scene.
“Something like a facetime, or something of that nature, through video contact, the small child told the reporter what had taken place and what they had seen at the house,” Ivey said. “[The caller] kept the child on the video the entire time as they were concerned for the child’s safety.”
WESH said investigators wrapped the scene Thursday night after they’d been there since the early morning hours collecting evidence.
“We’ve been processing the scene interviewing potential witnesses, collecting any data we possibly could to identify the suspect in this case,” Ivey said.
According to Ivey, Domenico Gigante of Rockledge is the suspect in the incident.
Deputies were dispatched to the residence around 2 a.m. When officials arrived, they found Glinda Terwilliger, 63, Michael Watson, 36, along with 35-year-old Constance Terwillegar and 15-year-old Kiara Terwilliger, had all been shot and killed inside the home, WESH reported.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with this family as they face this most difficult time. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through having lost their entire family in this capacity,” Ivey said.
Sheriff Ivey said Gigante was the father of Kiara and was previously in a relationship with her mother Constance.
“Gigante is the biological father of Kiara, the victim who was age 15, and was formerly in a relationship with Constance, the mother,” Ivey said. “I’m going to tell you that this is an extremely violent individual with an extremely violent past dating back as far as 2005, who should have never been on our streets, where he could take the lives of this entire family.”
According to WESH, Gigante was arrested late Wednesday afternoon. He’s facing four counts of premeditated first-degree murder and is currently being held on no bond.
Ivey stated that Gigante’s previous charges include animal cruelty, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault.
The investigation remains ongoing.
