An Upstate New York man accused of killing his neighbor earlier this month did so after learning about text messages exchanged between his girlfriend and the victim, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Scott Lamica was fatally stabbed near his home in the Madison Village mobile home park in Liverpool, N.Y., just outside the Town of Clay, on Sept. 6.
The suspect, 44-year-old Richard Losee, was arrested later that day and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
On Thursday, a prosecutor told syracuse.com that the stabbing was the result of a deadly love triangle.
On the day before the deadly altercation, Losee had been arrested and released following a domestic incident involving his girlfriend, according to prosecutor Rob Moran.
A criminal complaint indicates that the fight was sparked by text messages Losee’s girlfriend sent to Lamica.
Losee got upset when he found out about the text exchanges, officials said. He allegedly asked his girlfriend if they had “done anything” but she said “not yet.”
He also got into an argument with the woman, putting his hands around her neck and threatening to kill her, according to a criminal complaint.
The following day, Losee confronted Lamica and the two got into an argument that turned. Lamica was inside his car talking to Losee standing outside it. That’s when he stabbed the victim multiple times — through the open window, authorities said.
Lamica managed to drive to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Losee was indicted on Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder and kidnapping. He also faces a charge of criminal obstruction of breathing related to the earlier choking incident. He’s due back in court on Oct. 2.
Lamica is described in an online obit as an “avid car enthusiast” and “member of The Syracuse Corvette Club” who spent the summers attending weekly car shows in the Syracuse area.
He is survived by his parents, Frank and Jacqueline, his son Kyle, his brother and sister-in-law, his nephew, and his niece Kate Lamica, with whom “he was very close.”
