On a spring day in Pelham, New York, the life of Richard Joseph Daronco, a 56-year-old male federal judge, was brought to a violent and sudden end. On May 21, 1988, while tending to his garden, Judge Daronco was fatally shot by Charles Koster, a retired New York City police officer. The attack was a brutal act of vengeance stemming from a legal case over which the judge had presided. Daronco, who had served on the federal bench for just over a year, was shot multiple times with a. 38 caliber revolver. Despite his grievous wounds, he managed to stagger back into his home, where he ultimately collapsed and died.
The catalyst for this tragedy was a protracted sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Koster's daughter. She had sued her former employer, alleging discrimination after being passed over for a promotion. Judge Daronco, after a 10-day trial, dismissed the case, finding a lack of credible evidence to support her claims. This decision, delivered just days before the shooting, appears to have been the trigger for Charles Koster's deadly actions. Koster had reportedly invested a significant portion of his life savings into his daughter's lawsuit, and the dismissal left him consumed with anger and a desire for retribution.
After shooting the judge, Charles Koster followed him into the Daronco home. There, as Judge Daronco succumbed to his injuries in his study, Koster turned the gun on himself, taking his own life with a single gunshot to the head. The tragic event unfolded in the presence of Daronco's wife and daughter, who were in another part of the house at the time of the initial shots. A suicide note found later confirmed that Koster's actions were a direct result of his fury over the judge's ruling in his daughter's case. The murder-suicide left no suspect to be arrested or prosecuted, as the perpetrator died at the scene.
