On July 23, 2021, a relative's welfare check led to a grim discovery at a home on Overlook Drive in Farmingville, New York. Inside, police found the bodies of 31-year-old Richard Castano, his 24-year-old fiancée Diamond Schick, and their 20-year-old friend, Nyasia Knox of Georgia. All three had been fatally shot. A baby, the child of Nyasia Knox, was found unharmed in a separate room.
Two dogs were also found in the home, likewise unharmed.
Investigators at the scene noted that a door to the residence appeared to have been kicked in, with a broken doorjamb suggesting a forced entry. The Suffolk County Police quickly determined that the attack was not random, but rather a targeted incident. The initial investigation, however, did not immediately lead to a suspect or a clear motive for the triple homicide.
For a time, the case remained unsolved, leaving the families of the victims in anguish. However, a significant breakthrough came in January 2024, when federal prosecutors unsealed a 32-count superseding indictment against three alleged members of the Bloods street gang. Among them was 22-year-old Kendrick Seymore of Coram, who was charged with the murders of Richard Castano, Diamond Schick, and Nyasia Knox.
According to the indictment, Seymore and an accomplice, both armed, entered Richard Castano's apartment on that fateful July day with the intent to rob him. During the robbery, Seymore allegedly shot and killed Castano, Schick, and Knox. The indictment also charged Seymore and his co-defendants, Dwayne Murray and Lavalle Wilson, with a litany of other crimes, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, attempted murder, various firearms charges, and narcotics-related offenses. Murray was also charged with a separate murder that occurred in June 2020.
The defendants, who were already in custody at the time of the indictment, now face a federal trial. If convicted of the murders, both Seymore and Murray could face a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. As the case proceeds through the legal system, the families of Richard Castano, Diamond Schick, and Nyasia Knox await justice for their loved ones.
