Suicide note indicates former officer's killing of teen daughters was premeditated

HARRISON, N.Y. (KABC) -- A retired police officer's 5-page suicide note indicates that the killing of his teenage daughters in their beds was a premeditated act, according to Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini.

Former White Plains Officer Glen Hochman had no known health or psychiatric problems and there were no indications of alcohol or drug use, Marraccini said Monday.

Nonetheless, "Harrison police investigators discovered a suicide note at the residence indicating that the killings were premeditated by Mr. Hochman," Marraccini said. The computer printout was addressed to his wife. The primary note was on the first page, followed by five or six pages of instructions on getting things in order.

Marraccini said Hochman and his wife, Anamarie, had recently had "a family discussion" about separating and that on the day before the killings, Anamarie Hochman reported to police that she and her husband had a nonviolent argument over an $80 cellphone bill. The chief said she did not want police to follow up but rather wanted to "document" the incident.

Police found the bodies of Hochman and his daughters shortly before 4 p.m. on Saturday. Hochman's body was found in the garage while the bodies of 17-year-old Alissa and 13-year-old Deanna were found on "the main level" of the house, Marraccini said.

"It's difficult, especially when you see two young girls, their lives have been ripped away, brutally murdered. You can't get any rationale for that," said Marraccini. "...The act is so incredibly bad."

Hochman's wife and older daughter Samantha were on a trip to Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut, but grew concerned when there was no answer at the house. So Anamarie Hochman asked Alissa's boyfriend to go to the house to check on the girls.

The boyfriend entered the garage at 3:36 p.m., found Hochman's body and called 911. Police found the girls' bodies. Three dogs also had also been shot to death.

Alissa and Deanna were apparently both sleeping when they were shot in the head with their father's personal weapon, a 40-caliber Glock. The gun was found in Glen Hochman's hand.

The girls are believed to have been killed sometime after 2 a.m. Saturday. However, it is unknown how long Glen Hochman stayed inside the home before taking his own life.

At Harrison High School, where Alissa was a senior, grief counselors were being provided for those who need help coping with the tragedy.

"It's just terrible for something like this to happen. And it was just crazy," said student Ben Rubin said. "I never would think something is such a close community, something in Harrison... I've never seen this in my life before. It's crazy."

Adam Burak, Alissa's history teacher spoke exclusively to WABC-TV, and said the 17-year-old was a special student.

"Alissa is one of the reasons I got into teaching - she is one of the sweetest kids you could have, just a nice girl," Burack told the ABC news station in New York. "She also had a love of hockey - we bonded over the New York Rangers, and that's why I wore this shirt today."

Anamarie Hochman, a nursery school teacher, clearly adored her girls. In a 2012 posting on Alissa's Facebook page, Anamarie wrote a special birthday message to her "middle daughter", "...you are the light of my life, even though most days we are fighting, I can't imagine one minute without you. Happy 'Sweet 16'!! I love you always!!"

Glen Hochman spent 22 years at the White Plains Police Department before retiring last month.

"The department is shocked and horrified by the news of this unfathomable tragedy," White Plains Police Commissioner David Chong said in a statement. "We can only pray for the family. Officer Hochman served this department and the city of White Plains with honor and integrity."

Last year, Glen Hochman won the department's life-saving award for keeping an unresponsive man alive until paramedics arrived.

Some information from the Associated Press.