Cousins! A Mount Sinai doctor and her baby girl have sadly both been confirmed as deceased following a tragic shooting in which officials are describing as an apparent murder-suicide!
Hematology-Oncology specialist Dr. Krystal Cascetta worked at two different locations with Mount Sinai in Queens to help treat patients.
According to reports from Pix 11 news, she is said to have fatally shot her four-month-old baby and ultimately turned the gun on herself within their Westchester home earlier this month.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that at approximately 7:00 a.m., Krystal Cascetta entered her child’s room and shot her baby and then turned the gun on herself,” reads a statement from police.
“The scene is consistent with a murder/suicide,” says Trooper Steven Nevel.
He says that a 911 call came from someone inside Krystal’s residence which she shares with her husband. The unidentified caller says that they heard the gunshot and immediately rushed to the baby’s room, as they thought something had fallen.
Sadly the unidentified caller says they heard a second gunshot before they arrived to the room and had broken down the locked door, where they discovered Krystal and the baby’s deceased bodies; reports NBC.
Officials state that Krystal had been suffering from postpartum.
Mount Sinai released an official statement following Krystal’s tragic death.
“The Mount Sinai community is greatly saddened by the tragic loss of a Mount Sinai Health System doctor and her child. We extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Cascetta’s family, friends, colleagues, and patients.”
According to ABC News, Krystal’s professional profile says she graduated from Albany Medical College and did her residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
“The people closest to Krystal will tell you that being a doctor is in her DNA,” the Talty Bar website states. “Krystal, herself, will tell you that she has wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember; that even as a child she could be found wrapping her dolls in gauze.”
“When Krystal was in 8th grade, her mother’s best friend passed away from breast cancer,” the site adds. “It was this life-altering event that helped Krystal decide that Medical Oncology would be her specialty.”