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    Mother Whose Family Died in Shootout That Killed Deputy 'Joyful' Over Violence: Police

    1 day ago
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    Fox / Lake County Sheriff's Office

    The violence that led to the deaths of her husband and two daughters, as well as one deputy, is just the tip of the iceberg as the woman stands accused of luring deputies to the shootout amid evidence of 'anti-government' beliefs and attempts to also lure neighbors to the home to kill them.

    As the investigation continues into the tragic story out of Lake County, Florida, more disturbing details emerge as to what might have sparked a police shootout that left three family members and one sheriff's deputy dead.

    According to authorities, when Julie Sulpizio, 48, the only surviving member of her immediate family, discovered that her husband and two daughters had died, "she was joyful" and said she was acting "in the name of God."

    This according to Lake County Detective Josh Mercer at a press conference earlier this week. After he interviewed Julie, who is currently in custody, he told reporters, "There was no remorse. None at all."

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    Confronting Julie Ann Sulpizio

    The Sulpizio family was made up of husband Michael, wife Julie and adult daughters Cheyenne, 23, and Savannah, 22. All four were at their rural home in Eustis, northwest of Orlando, when deputies arrived on the scene.

    Deputies were responding to a call that Julie had been trying to lure nearby residents into their home to kill them, according to The New York Post .

    "The complainant stated she was acting religious, accusing them of being sinners, and she knows 'what they did,'" Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said in a press conference on Monday, per Fox 35 Orlando . "They identified Julie Sulpizio as their neighbor, but Julie states that she is 'Helen, under God's will.'"

    According to local officials, when they talked with her outside near her home, Julie began accusing the neighbors of being pedophiles, talked about angels and demons and said, "Julie is in heaven," again referring to herself as "Helen."

    "She then went on to state, 'You see, the thing is, we needed to trick Lucy,' and we later learned [Lucy] to be a name she calls Lucifer." Grinnell added. She then purportedly pointed at the responding deputy and told him, "You are one of them."

    This triggered authorities to take her into custody for a mental evaluation while a welfare check was triggered for her home. It was in their attempt to do this that the shootout erupted.

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    Shootout at Sulpizio Home

    Speaking with News 6 Orlando on Saturday, Lieutenant John Herrell said that Julie sent deputies to her home "under the guise of conducting a well-being check."

    "She said something to the effect that you need to go down to this house and check on the people there, so the deputies went down to this house, and it appeared that the house had been burglarized," he told the outlet. "In fact, they thought they had a possible burglary in progress."

    "As they were posting up on the house, they could hear commotion inside," he continued. "They tried to order the people out. No one came out, so at that point, they made entry of the home at which time they were immediately met with heavy, heavy gunfire."

    According to Grinnell at the press conference, Lake County deputies noticed two dead dogs in the yard when they approached the home. When they attempted to enter the property, the remaining family members opened fire.

    Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link had taken the lead position, said Grinnell, and was shot multiple times when he attempted to enter the home in what authorities described as an "ambush." The remaining officers retreated, taking cover and contacting the SWAT team.

    At one point, as captured by bodycam footage recovered from Deputy Link's body, which was lying on the floor inside the home, one of the Sulpizio daughters is allegedly heard saying, "My King will kill all of you. You are Lucifer's children." Michael Sulpizio is seen taking aim with a rifle from the couch.

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    When this additional backup arrived, they again attempted to approach the building. Deputy 1st Class Stefano Gargano was shot multiple times, as was Master Deputy Harold Howell. Both are expected to survive their injuries.

    Deputies then heard additional gunshots inside the home. When they made their way inside the residence, they discovered both daughters dead on the couch from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head, said Grinnell. Michael was also there, severely injured from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, but still alive. He died at a nearby hospital.

    Again referring to bodycam footage from Deputy Link, Grinnell said the father and daughters could be heard discussing suicide before they shot and ultimately killed themselves.

    Disturbing Family Discoveries

    When deputies began to dig deeper into the Sulpizio family, they allegedly found evidence of extreme beliefs that may have influenced the family's response to the deputies' arrival.

    Speaking with the press, Grinnell detailed finding survival supplies, a weapons stockpile, "anti-government propaganda and conspiracy theory-related media," including "bumper stickers, handouts, and flyers for things like InfoWars and various podcasts."

    According to Grinnell, the investigation uncovered that the Sulpizios had estranged themselves from the rest of their family, as well as society at large. He said that the daughters had previously been pulled from public schools to be homeschooled where they could be shielded from external influences.

    WFTV interviewed Rochelle Eldridge, who was married to the biological father of daughters Cheyenne and Savannah. Calling the tragedy "100% avoidable," Eldridge says she had contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families years ago about both girls.

    At the same time, she admitted she'd not seen them in 20 years and was no longer married to their biological father. Nevertheless, she was at the time Michael Sulpizio was seeking to adopt them in 2007, when the girls were 5 and 6 years old.

    She told WFTV she begged her then-husband not to allow it, concerned about his ideologies amid a long child support battle. She said she contacted FDC in December 2003 and again in May 2019, saying she told them "that he was anti-government. He had a ton of guns. The end of the world. He claimed that he had a bunker on that property."

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    She also expressed concerns that the girls were pulled from public schools and had limited and controlled access to the outside world, with virtually zero social life and no cell phones.

    The Lake County Sheriff's Office confirmed much of Eldridge's story, including that the sisters were pulled from middle school, with Julie telling investigators she did it so they wouldn't be exposed to outside ideologies or beliefs, per WFTV.

    They also confirmed a bunker inside the home. DCF told the outlet they are looking into whether or not Eldridge contacted them.

    Grinnell also affirmed neighbor's claims, saying that Julie admitted trying to "lure the neighbors to her residence so that Michael could kill them."

    Eldridge described Michael as "very arrogant, very rude. Male chauvinist, for lack of a better term." As for Julie, she said "she was very normal ... She was rude and not pleasant but she wasn’t nutty."

    Julie Sulpizio's First Court Appearance

    Authorities are painting Julie as the "ringleader" of her family's conspiracy-driven behavior, as well as the shootout itself, as it was Julie who they allege directed deputies to her home. At the same time, she is being evaluated to see if she is mentally competent to stand trial.

    On Tuesday, Julie made her first court appearance, where she was seen wearing a suicide prevention smock. She was assigned a public defender. She indicated her intention to hire a private attorney. The charges were read and a pre-trial hearing will happen within the next five days. She will remain in custody.

    Julie is facing 12 total charges, including with first-degree premeditated murder of a law enforcement officer, seven counts of attempted murder, felony battery/strangulation, two counts of battery, and battery on a law enforcement officer. She is being held without bond, with State Attorney Bill Gladson telling the press her case is eligible for the death penalty.

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