Man 'Shoots Son Dead' On New Year's Eve For Trying To Help Him Beat Alcoholism

A 57-year-old NYC man allegedly shot his son to death on New Year’s Eve when the latter visited him over the holidays to try and help him beat alcoholism.

Joseph Leone Sr. allegedly shot his 29-year-old son, Joseph Leone Jr., in front of his house on Bay St. near Scarboro Ave. in Rosebank on Dec. 31. Police responded to the scene and found the victim lying on the sidewalk. He was rushed to a local hospital but he could not be saved, New York Daily News reported.

According to the family of the victim, he was visiting his father at the time. Leone Sr. was apprehended at the scene and police recovered the firearm in a garbage can outside the home, prosecutors said. He then confessed to shooting his son, Staten Island Advance reported.

As per a criminal complaint filed by the Richmond County district attorney’s office, Leone Sr. told police at the scene: “That shotgun in the garbage can, that’s the one I shot him with.” Leone Sr. was arraigned Sunday on charges of murder, manslaughter and having shotguns without a permit.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily News, the victim’s wife, Kimberly Leone, said that her husband was visiting his father in Staten Island at the time of the shooting. She said that her husband went to his father’s house to help him recover from a fall and alcoholism.

According to the report, about two weeks before his death, Leone Jr. told his wife his father had fallen down a flight of stairs at home. “(The father) was still sitting on the stairs when he called Joe and told him that he needed help,” the victim’s wife said.

"(Leone Jr.) had his own drug addiction but he recently went to rehab and got clean. He said, 'I'll have to go up there and help my daddy recover from alcohol like you helped me to recover from drugs,'" Kimberly was quoted as saying by Daily News.

Kimberly told the outlet that Leone Sr. had threatened to shoot his son a couple of days before the incident. But, Leone Jr. did not think that his father meant it.

"His dad was very abusive throughout his childhood. He always said that his dad beat him when he was little," the victim’s wife said, adding: "I never really knew the extent of it because his daddy put on a really great face when I was around."

Kimberly said she is worried that Leone Sr. will use insanity defense or claim the incident was influenced by his cancer to escape prosecution.

"Joseph Leone is a former U.S. Marine with no criminal record. He is presumed innocent, and we caution the public from making any rush to judgment," said S. Maquita Moody of the Legal Aid Society, which represented him at his arraignment Sunday. “We will have more to say on this matter in the coming days, weeks and months.”