BETHPAGE, N.Y. — A 30-year-old man was taken into custody Thursday morning after his parents were stabbed to death inside the family’s A&A Italian Deli & Pizza on Hicksville Road in Bethpage, Nassau County police said. Officers arrived just after 9 a.m., found the mother fatally wounded in a back room and the father gravely injured in the shop, and arrested the couple’s son in the parking lot.
The killings stunned a tight-knit block where the deli has long been a neighborhood fixture and lunch stop for tradespeople and school staff. Investigators identified the victims as Angela Pulisciano, 62, and her husband, Antonio D’Ambrosio, 70. Their son, Vito D’Ambrosio, was charged with first-degree murder involving multiple victims and ordered held without bail during an initial appearance conducted from a hospital, where authorities said he is undergoing evaluation. Detectives with the Nassau County Homicide Squad are reconstructing the minutes before the attack, a sequence that includes a separate complaint at a nearby coffee shop and a confrontation inside the deli.
According to police, D’Ambrosio drove to the storefront shortly after 9 a.m. and went into a rear area where Pulisciano was working. Investigators said she was stabbed in the neck and died at the scene. The father, attacked moments later in the shop, was transported to a hospital and later died. Officers said they found D’Ambrosio sitting outside with blood on his hands and clothing and detained him without incident. A witness told reporters the suspect said, “I stabbed my parents,” as sirens converged on the lot. Crime-scene technicians photographed the counter, coolers and a narrow hallway leading to the prep space while detectives canvassed adjacent businesses for video.
Authorities said the same morning, before the stabbings, a female clerk at a nearby coffee shop reported that a man slapped her on the backside and fled; a 911 call was logged. Detectives are reviewing that report alongside the homicide timeline and checking whether it involved the same suspect. Police said the family had experienced recent turmoil and that a sibling obtained an order of protection last month. D’Ambrosio was wearing an ankle monitor from an unrelated matter, according to people briefed on the case. Officials have not detailed the knife used or disclosed where they believe it was obtained, saying those questions are part of the ongoing evidence review.
The deli, a low-slung corner unit near Boundary Avenue with a bright red-and-green awning, opened decades ago and is known for Italian combo heroes and hot trays that draw a late-morning rush. Customers who gathered behind police tape described the couple as generous and unfailingly polite. A tradesman who eats there twice a week said Antonio, known as “Tony,” “never let you leave hungry,” and that Pulisciano kept the line moving through busy lunch hours. Regulars said the shop employed relatives over the years and sponsored youth teams; a handwritten “Closed” sign hung on the glass door as detectives worked inside.
Investigators are analyzing surveillance footage from the deli and nearby storefronts, matching timestamps against 911 logs and body-camera video. Detectives collected a knife from the scene and bagged clothing for DNA testing, according to officials familiar with the work. They also seized digital records and will examine phone locations and messages. Police said they are interviewing employees, nearby clerks and drivers who may have seen the suspect arrive or leave. The medical examiner will determine the exact causes and manners of death and document wound paths to help fix the sequence of the assaults.
Court records show D’Ambrosio pleaded not guilty during a brief virtual arraignment and was remanded while hospitalized for observation. Prosecutors said they will present the case to a grand jury, a routine step for first-degree murder charges, and expect to seek an indictment early next week. If indicted, D’Ambrosio would be arraigned in Nassau County Court, where a judge would set disclosure deadlines and future dates. Authorities said additional counts could be added as forensic results return, including possible weapons or evidence-tampering charges, but emphasized that charging decisions will follow lab findings and autopsy reports.
Outside, the scene remained hushed as investigators moved evidence bags to a van and workers from neighboring shops watched from behind a cordon. A small memorial of candles and white flowers formed by nightfall. “They were like family to everybody,” said a woman who lives a few blocks away and brought a bouquet. A contractor who stops for coffee before jobs said he had chatted with Antonio about winter catering orders earlier in the week. Several longtime patrons, eyes rimmed red, spoke in low tones about holidays spent picking up trays from the counter now draped with a blue evidence cloth.
Police said they expect to release further details after the medical examiner’s preliminary findings and once interviews are transcribed. Detectives asked nearby businesses to retain video from Thursday morning as they continue to chart the suspect’s movements on and off Hicksville Road. The deli will remain closed as a crime scene until evidence processing is complete. Community members said they plan a vigil once the family confirms arrangements in the coming days.