Woman arrested for ambush attack of deputies; thought neighbors were pedophiles, officials said

A Florida woman has been charged in the death of a sheriff’s deputy after she and her family ambushed law enforcement, officials said.

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It all started on Friday in Eustis, Florida, WFTV reported.

Law enforcement was called to a home on a trespassing report. The person who had called them said that their neighbor, Julie Sulpizio, had hit his wife, father and other family members. The man told police that Sulpizio was “acting religious” and that she accused them of being sinners, telling them that “she knows what they did,” USA Today reported.

Law enforcement was there, an incident was unfolding a few homes away. When they got to that house they found a door kicked in and heard what officials called a “commotion.” When they entered, they were met with a “barrage of gunfire,” Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said.

One deputy was wounded, and after the others retreated and regrouped to get a “rescue team” in to retrieve their injured teammate, they were met by a “hail of gunfire.” A second deputy was shot at that time.

The first officer was shot in the shoulder. The second was hit in the abdomen, groin and arm, but both survived. A third, Master Deputy Bradley Link, was killed.

It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that Lake County Sheriff Peyton C. Grinnell, on behalf of the Lake County...

Posted by Lake County Sheriff's Office - Florida on Saturday, August 3, 2024

Julia Sulpizio’s husband, Michael, and her two daughters, Savannah Sulpizio, 23, and Cheyenne Sulpizio, 22, died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, WFTV reported. Their deaths were captured on Link’s body camera, NBC News reported.

Police said Michael Sulpizio was wearing body armor during the standoff Friday and that he shot and wounded the officers.

During the investigation, officers said they found an arsenal of 22 guns and a stockpile of ammunition in the home’s living room, anti-government propaganda, body armor, gas masks, MREs (military meals), bottled water and conspiracy-theory-related media, our sister station and NBC News reported.

Julie Sulpizio said there was also a body under her home, but police did not find any remains, WFTV reported.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department said Julie Sulpizio had tried to lure neighbors into her home to kill them because she thought they were pedophiles, according to USA Today . She had told police that she had planned the “mission” to ambush and murder those with “dark” souls, WFTV reported.

The neighbors had told investigators that Julie Sulpizio tried to get them to come into the house, but the neighbor didn’t trust her, NBC News reported.

She said she lured the people in and that her husband would kill them.

Julie Sulpizio told police her name was “Helen under God’s will” and that she could “visualize souls” and that it was her job to bring her husband “dark souls,” according to NBC News.

Julie Sulpizio was taken to an area hospital where she was arrested. She was placed in Link’s handcuffs and taken to the Lake County Jail in his patrol vehicle, WFTV reported.

Julie Sulpizio faces 13 charges including, suspicion of murder, attempted murder and murder of a law enforcement officer, according to online arrest records . The final charge carries the potential of the death penalty, USA Today reported.