commentary by Patrick H. Moore
We’ve all known people whose lives have slowly (or sometimes rapidly) unraveled. Although I was mostly blissfully unaware of this problem as a young man acting and re-acting to the pitfalls and perils of life, as I’ve gotten older I’ve become painfully aware that when things go wrong (as they most assuredly do from time-to-time), it’s imperative to take stock of the situation, find a way to limit the damage if at all possible (cut your losses) and try to right your “ship of life” so that you can dig out and start moving in a positive direction.
But what if things go so badly wrong that you simply cannot “dig out” but rather fall farther and farther into an abyss that seems without limit?
This would appear to be what happened to “30-year-old Sean Petrozzino, a quadruple amputee whose parents, Nancy Petrozzino, 64, and Michael Petrozzino, 63, were found dead in their home in the Andover Cay subdivision of Orange County, Florida on Tuesday.”
The Petrozzino parents’ deaths have been ruled homicides and although their son, Sean Petrozzino, has not yet been charged with any crime, he has been named a person of interest and I suspect it’s only a matter of time before the other shoe drops.
It’s unclear what evidence the investigators have tying Sean to the crime other than the fact that he has vanished and certainly didn’t report his parents’ demise. Thus, sadly, the circumstantial evidence against him seems rather strong.
It’s also odd that Sean, who was living with his folks in the Andover Cay subdivision in Orange County, had only moved back in with them about ten days ago. Thus, the fact that Nancy and Michael’s death occurred so soon after he moved in, combined with the fact that he’s missing, would appear to be what has led the authorities to deem him a “person of interest”.
The bodies of were found after deputies went to the house on Heming Way in the Andover Cay subdivision, south of Curry Ford Road, to do a well-being check when Nancy Petrozzino didn’t show up for work, authorities said.
“We do believe he has a firearm. He’s considered dangerous and they believe he is in the south Florida area,” said Jane Watrel, with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
The unraveling of Sean’s life began when he was in high school when he contracted a rare form of bacterial meningitis that ate away at his limbs and forced doctors to amputate his arms and legs.
Thus, through no fault of his own, Sean’s luck turned very bad when he was at a very vulnerable phase of his life. When he got sick, his south Florida high school rose to the occasion and raised money to help pay for an astounding 13 surgeries. As part of his rehabilitation, he and his family moved to the Orlando area.
It’s unclear how he has supported himself over the years, but in 2006 he purchased his own home and managed to pay his mortgage through the teeth of the meltdown of 2008, but was foreclosed upon in 2012.. According to records, he owed $200,000 to the lender and, at some point, abandoned the house without notifying the proper parties.
Thus, the unraveling that began when Sean came down with his devastating illness appears to have taken a quantum leap when he was unable to keep his house. Of course, we know nothing regarding whatever “slings and arrows” he may have faced between the age of 22, when he purchased the house, and this week when he MAY HAVE shot his parents.
It would appear that being forced to move back home at the age of 30 could have thrown him into a tailspin. There’s an almost incomprehensible difference, though, between moving back home as an adult and shooting one’s parents.
A former neighbor of Sean’s, Michael Vitale, spoke highly of him and was thoroughly surprised by the investigation, stating:
“There was nothing to have me doubt his integrity or honesty or anything that he might be a threat to anybody’s family here.”
According to the authorities, Sean was last seen in a 2012 red Toyota Camry with Florida tag 112VZY, and is believed to possibly be in the Jupiter or Coral Springs area.
In a cruel but no doubt necessary gesture, “on Wednesday, investigators released a photograph of Sean Petrozzino taken at an ATM at a Wells Fargo Bank in Orlando on Tuesday morning. Investigators said they wanted people to look at the physical characteristics of his hands so that someone might be able to identify him.”
Sean’s parents appear to have been “just folks”. His father Michael worked at Disney World and his mother Nancy was an apparently very popular second-grade teacher at Andover Lakes Elementary School.
“It’s just unbelievable, something you can’t comprehend,” said Richard Reeder, a grandparent who was at the school Wednesday.
Andover Lakes Elementary School Principal Angela Zambaux sent a message to parents that said, “I am very sad to report that we have lost second-grade teacher Mrs. Nancy Petrozzino today. She died in her home today.”
“I was shocked when I found out it was her. Literally, my kids cried for hours yesterday,” said neighbor Jennifer Satmaria. “My one daughter didn’t even go to school today. She woke up with a migraine because she cried so much yesterday. She was just an awesome lady.”
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So why do bad things happen to good people? And why do good people sometimes turn bad (or at least do very bad things)? And why must a man’s (or a woman’s) life all too often unravel to the point of no return? This is the great mystery of life (and death) that religion strives to explain. But no person or institution can explain it satisfactorily.
But when a truly unlucky soul such as Sean Petrozzino loses control (if that’s what happened), we can only grieve for him and for his victims and for everyone like them who is damned by a malevolent fate.