Northampton family slain in apparent domestic massacre — Suspect is son, brother

🔴 Three found dead inside Northampton home; suspect barricades himself for hours

🔴 Wellness check turns into deadly police standoff

🔴 DA calls incident a homicide, praises officers’ “heroic restraint”

UPDATE: Man charged in brutal Pa. killings of parents and Centennial School District teacher

NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — A man looking for his girlfriend, whom he had not heard from in two days, brought police to her parents' home, where the woman and her parents were found dead inside.

Northampton police said Steven Keczely had not found Deborah Castiglia at her Doylestown home on Saturday and could not reach her by phone. On Sunday, he drove to her parents' home on Heather Way in Northampton, where he saw his girlfriend's car in the driveway. He knocked on the door several times but there was no answer and all the lights were off.

When Keczely returned on Monday, Deborah's brother Kevin Castiglia, 55, came to the door dressed in a robe. Castiglia told Keczely that Deborah was not at home and had probably gone on vacation. Keczely said the brother pointed a "Psycho type chef's knife" at him and told him never to come to the house again or "I will kill you." Castiglia left and called police.

Officers were greeted by Castiglia, who was holding two knives when he opened the door and was speaking incoherently. One of the officers thought one of the knives had blood on it.

Officers deployed an electronic gun but Castiglia pulled the probes out of his body.

Castiglia shut the door and refused to speak with officers face-to-face. The South Central Emergency Response Team tactical team was brought in and entered the home over concerns for whoever was inside. The body of Deborah Castiglia was found in the kitchen. Fredetick and Judith Castiglia, the parents of Deborah and Kevin, were in the basement.

Kevin Castiglia barricaded himself in a second-floor bedroom for nearly five hours before the tactical team was able to get him to leave the home. He was charged with terroristic threats, possessing instruments of crime, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

District Attorney Joe Khan said the incident is being investigated as a homicide but did not disclose a cause of death.

The district attorney praised Northampton police and tactical team for their "heroic restraint."

"Officers utilized every tactical resource available to take the suspect into custody alive, preventing further tragedy," Khan said.

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