Mother charged with murder of Lake County deputy

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Mother charged with ******* of Lake County deputy

Insisting they were inspired by ****, the matriarch of the family that ******* a Lake County deputy first sought to lure neighbors she claimed were pedophiles into her Tavares home to ***** them. She was arrested and taken away.

But when deputies responded Friday night to a second call from the Brookside Drive neighborhood, the woman’s husband and daughters ambushed them, then ******* themselves after a ******* shootout authorities are still trying to untangle.

The latest details of what happened before and during

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and injured two other deputies were delivered Monday afternoon by a tearful Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell, as he also announced the arrest of Julie Ann Sulpizio, 48, for first-degree *******.

The shootings came at the hands of Julie Ann Sulpizio’s husband Michael Sulpizio, 49, and their daughters Cheyenne, 23, and Savannah, 22. Grinnell said much of the incident was captured on Link’s body-worn camera. The footage has not been released.

A neighbor first called deputies around 7:45 p.m. Friday, saying Julie Ann Sulpizio, 48, was attacking her neighbors.

“Michael, Gabriel, Timothy: it’s time now to protect my children,” Julie Ann Sulpizio said as she was being handcuffed, according to Grinnell. She was later admitted into the hospital under the Baker Act.

Hours later, deputies converged at the Sulpizios’ home for a suspected burglary, where they found two ***** dogs on the front yard. As they entered the home, the Sulpizios ambushed them, ********* Link multiple times and trapping him in the house as the others retreated.

In the video, Grinnell said, one of the daughters was heard saying, “My king will ***** all of you.” At 9:26 p.m., SWAT deputies arrived to rescue Link. But two deputies — Master Deputy Harold Howell and Deputy 1st Class Stefano Gargano — were shot during the operation, with Gargano being struck by gunfire multiple times as he led the team into the building.

Link’s camera continued to record as the situation unfolded. In the hours following the first confrontation with the deputies, a woman can be heard contemplating ********, according to Grinnell. By 11:02 p.m., two gunshots can be heard in quick succession, followed by a third shortly after.

Cheyenne and Savannah Suplizio were later found ***** by ******** along with their father Michael, who ***** at a hospital, Grinnell said.

Gargano, who was in critical condition over the weekend, was declared stable after a series of surgeries, Lt. John Herrell told reporters on Monday. Howell, who was shot in the the shoulder, will make a full recovery.

Detective Josh Mercer, who interviewed Julie Ann Sulpizio, said she appeared to be pleased with what happened.

“She was joyful,” Mercer said. “There was no remorse.”

Investigators later found a stockpile of weapons and other supplies inside the home, along with “anti-government *********** and and *********** theory-related media,” Grinnell said.

Whether the Sulpizios were tied to extremist groups is under investigation.

“There were bumper stickers, handouts, flyers for things like Infowars, various podcasts,” said Mercer, referring to the far-right media outlet run by *********** theorist Alex Jones. “We’re still going through a lot of evidence at this time.”

News of Gargano’s condition brought a sigh of relief in the room during Monday’s press conference, as it was unclear whether he would survive. Grinnell commended him, Howell and the other deputies for their courage in the effort to rescue Link.

“They took action right away and for something ******* than them,” Grinnell said. Lake County State Attorney Bill Gladson, who stood with Grinnell, said what the deputies did was “nothing short of heroism.”

“They are absolute heroes, and enough can’t be said about how they saved lives that night,” he added.

Grinnell told reporters there were no reported warning signs that something like Friday’s ********* would happen. The only other calls to the home were related to animal enforcement, and there were no reports of *********.

An Orlando Sentinel review of the family’s ********* history yielded nothing, except for Michael Sulpizio’s 1994 conviction for theft, for which he served probation.

The Sulpizios, however, mostly kept to themselves, according to investigators. Daughters Cheyenne and Savannah were pulled out of public school as early teens and homeschooled to shield them from outside influence. Other relatives, who detectives have contacted, were also estranged.

“For the most part, Julie and Michael have been pretty much cut off from their family, by their own choice,” Mercer said.

As for Sheriff’s Office employees, Grinnell said mental health workers from the University of Central Florida have been working to help process the *********. The agency, he added, has also seen deputies and others calling in ***** in light of what happened.

Earlier on Monday, a procession escorted Link’s body from Lake County to a ******** home in Clermont, along with his family. A

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has raised nearly $116,000.

Link’s ******** is scheduled to take place Saturday at Real Life ******* in Clermont. No plans have been made for the public to attend.

“When I tell you this agency is hurting, we’re hurting, but we’re going to get through this,” Grinnell said. “It takes more than just us — it takes our community, and our community is doing that. I’m so thankful.”

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