Peter Colletti, a 71-year-old White/Caucasian male, died on the night of December 2, 2021, after a shooting inside his home in the Bridgeville, Delaware, area. According to Delaware State Police, the incident unfolded at a residence in the 100 block of Emilys Pintail Drive after Colletti and his wife returned home at about 9:30 p.m. What had begun as an ordinary return to the house quickly turned into a violent domestic tragedy.
Colletti's wife was inside a first-floor bathroom when she heard footsteps above her on the second floor, where her brother, Joseph Caldarera, lived. Moments later, she heard a loud bang. When she came out of the bathroom, she found her husband in the family room suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. She fled the home and ran to a neighbor's house, where police were called.
Delaware State Police troopers were dispatched at about 10:45 p.m. for the report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found Peter Colletti dead in the family room. As they searched the home, they located Joseph Caldarera upstairs in his bedroom. Police said Caldarera, 58, was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators treated the case as a homicide-suicide. Police identified Caldarera as the suspect in Colletti's killing and said there was no ongoing threat to the public. The bodies were turned over to the Division of Forensic Science for autopsies to determine the official cause and manner of death. At the time of the available reports, authorities had not established or publicly released a motive for the shooting.
Because the identified suspect died at the scene, no arrest was made, and there were no reported criminal charges, trial proceedings, or conviction connected to the case. The available reports describe the matter as a suspected murder-suicide investigated by the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit.
