The son of the elderly Maryland couple who was shot and killed at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery said that his parents went to the cemetery every day to visit the grave of his brother, according to multiple reports.
As indicated by news outlet Cecil Daily, Ray Marino, 60, the living son of the elderly couple, said that his parents, Paul and Lidia Marino, had made visiting the grave of their other son, Anthony Marino, a daily routine.
“It was like a regimen. Mom and Dad visited my brother’s grave every single day, without fail, unless there was inclement weather. They usually went there in the morning,” Ray Marino said. According to him, his parents had been doing this for three years.
Ray Marino said that the daily visits were the way his parents would show how deeply they cared for their lost son. On some days, his parents would leave fresh flowers, and other times, they would just visit to talk to the gravestone and tell the late Anthony Marino that they missed him.
Anthony Marino, who was born with cerebral palsy, died on March 15, 2017, and was permitted to be buried in the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery despite not having served in the military. Under cemetery rules, according to the news outlet, one burial plot could be used on a veteran’s offspring or an adult offspring with disabilities.
Ray Marino spoke fondly of his mother and father and said that they were very kind people.
Ray Marino and his other brother, Paul Jr. Marino, worked together in order to make the arrangements for their parents’ funeral. In addition, after the tragic death of Paul and Lidia Marino, the cemetery decided to waive the $500 that they would normally charge for Lidia Marino’s interment.
According to the news outlet, the cemetery officials provided the surviving Marino family with special arrangements for the funeral. Others have offered their support following the tragedy.
May 8 Shooting
On May 8, Paul and Lidia were shot and killed at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bear, Delaware.
As indicated by Cecil Daily, Paul Marino was a U.S. Army veteran, and he and his wife, on the day of the shooting, were making their way to visit their son’s grave at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
At around 10:13 a.m., an individual came up behind Paul and Lidia Marino and shot them both, according to the news release. As indicated, the police officers received reports of shots being fired at Delaware cemetery and were dispatched to the scene of the crime located at 2465 Chesapeake City Road in Bear.
Lidia Marino was pronounced dead at the scene and Paul Marino was taken to Christiana Hospital in critical condition.
“He came up behind them, pulled out a handgun and did his thing. He shot our dad in the back of the head and then he shot our mom. We don’t know if he shot our mom first in front of our dad or if he shot our dad first in front of our mom. We don’t even know if they saw him,” Ray Marino told Cecil Daily.
Paul Marino was declared dead on May 9 after a day at the hospital.
Police received reports of an individual running off into the wooded area immediately following the sound of shots. After finding the suspect, “shots were fired between the said individual and officers,” according to police.
The individual, identified as Sheldon C. Francis, a 29-year-old man from Middletown, Delaware, was later found dead from a gunshot wound, but officials were not sure whether the wound was self-inflicted or whether it was sustained from the earlier shoot-out.
