Man and woman fatally shot in West Babylon, police say
Two people were shot and killed in West Babylon on Wednesday night, police said.
Suffolk County police responded to a report of a shooting on Lakeway Drive at about 11:20 p.m., officials said. They found a woman shot inside a vehicle and a man shot outside the vehicle.
Olivia Digrigoli, 21, of West Islip, was pronounced dead at the scene by rescue personnel from the North Babylon Fire Department, police said. Anthony St. Hilaire, 22, of West Babylon, was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, where he was pronounced dead.
“We’re investigating the circumstances, we can’t rule anything out,” Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer, head of the homicide squad, told News 12 Long Island.
Beyrer said Digrigoli was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
At dusk Thursday, the first of more than 100 people started gathering on Lakeway Drive, where they played and danced to hip hop music they said was mixed by St. Hilaire. The only comfort, one friend said, was that the couple, who held hands all the time, were together in the end.
Friends said Digrigoli and St. Hilaire were alike in many ways. Each was funny, upbeat and "brought the party to the party," those who knew the couple said. The pair accepted the other's good and bad, friends said.
Investigators respond to the scene on Lakeway Drive in West Babylon on Thursday, where a man and woman were found fatally shot Wednesday night. Credit: James Carbone
As the couple's friends left the candlelight vigil, they said they went to honor the two, not just by remembering their lives, but with their broken hearts, confusion and anger over the shootings.
St. Hilaire's father, who said he was on vacation when he got the news of his son's death at 4 a.m. Thursday, was also left with unanswered questions.
“I don’t know what happened,” Anthony St. Hilaire, also of West Babylon, said. “We have no clue right now.”
He called his son, whose birthday was just days away on Sunday, “loving” but “naive” and said the last time they spoke, the young man had talked of dropping his engineering major at Nassau Community College and making music his career.
On Thursday night, the father said he was trying to square the fatal shooting with what he knew about his son.
“I can’t put it together,” St. Hilaire said. “He was fine, and he was a good kid.”
Detectives asked anyone with information related to the shooting to call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477.
'Keep a little wiggle room in the budget' Back to school shopping is back and costs are actually down compared to last year. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa and retail research leader Lupine Skelly discuss ways to save on school supplies.
'Keep a little wiggle room in the budget' Back to school shopping is back and costs are actually down compared to last year. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa and retail research leader Lupine Skelly discuss ways to save on school supplies.
