Brighton police confirmed that officers had previous contact with Lawrence Mancuso, a Brighton man who last week fatally shot his 11-year-old daughter and the girl’s grandmother before killing himself.
Police also confirmed Tuesday that Mancuso stole four handguns from a relative – at least one of which was believed to be used in Friday’s shooting deaths.
Here’s the latest on the case, as police continue to investigate, and how it has impacted the Brighton community.
Murder-suicide on Hollyvale Drive in Brighton NY: What happened
According to Brighton police, officers were called to a home on Hollyvale Drive just before noon on Friday to assist an unresponsive girl on the porch. The child – 11-year-old Anne Mancuso – was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital, where she died from gunshot wounds.
During their investigation, officers discovered open doors and a bullet hole in a window of a neighboring house. Inside, they found the bodies of Anne’s grandmother – Mary Liccini, 74, of Avon, Livingston County – and Anne’s father – Lawrence Mancuso, 53, of Brighton.
Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi said that the investigation determined that Lawrence Mancuso shot and killed his daughter and her grandmother before he killed himself.
Earlier on Friday morning, Lawrence Mancuso purchased alcohol and allegedly stole four handguns from a relative’s home in Greece before driving to Hollyvale Drive, Catholdi said.
All four guns were recovered, officers said. One weapon was inside the Hollyvale Drive residence and the other three were found inside Lawrence Mancuso’s vehicle, which was parked near the corner of Hollyvale and Lynnwood drives.
Who was Lawrence Mancuso?
Lawrence Mancuso was Anne’s father and did not live on Hollyvale Drive, where Anne resided with her mother. The two had been divorced for several years. He lived elsewhere in Brighton, according to police.
Lawrence Mancuso was an assistant dean for human resources at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations in Ithaca, a university spokesperson confirmed. He had been on a leave of absence since October 2024.
Catholdi said he did not know how long Lawrence Mancuso resided in Brighton before the slayings.
Who was Anne Mancuso?
Twelve Corners Middle School in Brighton on Jan. 6, 2025 is located in Twelve Corners.
Eleven-year-old Anne “Annie” Mancuso was a sixth-grade student at Brighton’s Twelve Corners Middle School, district officials confirmed Saturday.
“Annie was known to her friends and teachers as a kind, sweet, and beautiful person in every way,” Brighton Central School District Superintendent Kevin McGowan said in a letter to the district’s students, teachers, staff and families. “A thoughtful, caring student and very special friend, Annie was such a gift to her friends, family and school community.”
Anne lived with her mother on Hollyvale Drive. Funeral arrangements for Anne and her grandmother have not been announced.
Brighton police had contact with suspect one day before killings
Brighton Police are investigating a homicide on Hollyvale Drive in Brighton on Jan. 3, 2025. Three people, including a youth, were fatally shot. Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi said the homicides appeared to be domestic violence.
Catholdi this week confirmed that officers were called to the Hollyvale Drive home on Thursday – one day before the killings – regarding what he described as “custody issues.”
“It was pretty innocuous,” he said, regarding the interaction. Catholdi noted that Lawrence Mancuso on Thursday “had questions” regarding a custody arrangement regarding his daughter. “We don’t know what the custody arrangement was, but there was no paperwork,” he said.
Catholdi also confirmed that while Brighton Police did have previous contact with Lawrence Mancuso – all encounters before 2025 were medical-related interactions and were not linked in any way to domestic violence. None of those interactions were at the Hollyvale Drive residence, he said.
Brighton community reacts to murder-suicide
Since the killings, friends, relatives and neighbors are trying to make sense of the violence. What caused Lawrence Mancuso to shoot his daughter, her grandmother and himself?
Police say they will likely never know.
“There were a multitude of factors,” he said. “We understand that the community has questions. We have those same questions.”
The violence that unfolded on Hollyvale Drive Friday morning “doesn’t make sense,” Catholdi said. “And it may never make sense.” And, he noted, police don’t know specifically what sparked the chain of events that led to the murder-suicide.
Friends of Sarah Liccini – the Brighton woman whose daughter and mother were shot to death – have launched an online fundraiser to support her and her father with memorial arrangements and other expenses as they cope with the killings.
“We are rallying together to support Sarah and her family during this time of unbelievable loss and grief,” the GoFundMe read.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $80,000 was donated to the ongoing fundraiser.
On Sunday and Monday nights, luminaries and candles have lined roads within Annie’s neighborhood, as well as in other nearby Brighton neighborhoods. Grief counselors are on hand for students and staff at Brighton schools this week.
Domestic violence resources in Rochester, NY
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call or text Willow Domestic Violence Center at (585) 222-7233 or go to willowcenterny.org.
You can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org.
All calls are toll-free and confidential.
Both hotlines are available daily, around the clock.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Lawrence Mancuso reached out to police before Brighton murder-suicide
