Cops were called to the home of Dr. Krystal Cascetta at least twice before she shot dead her 4-month-old daughter and fatally turned the gun on herself, an upstate neighbor told The Post on Sunday — as it surfaced the oncologist’s parents were in the house at the time of the slay-suicide horror.
“They had ambulances and police come to their house two, maybe three times this summer. At least twice,” recalled neighbor Bob Stuart, 71, who lives near the 40-year-old cancer doctor’s million-dollar home in Somers, Westchester County. “I saw the police and ambulances arrive.”
It’s not clear why cops and an ambulance were repeatedly called to the stately property.
Neighbors said the top Mount Sinai Hospital doctor and her husband, 37-year-old Tim Talty, who owned an energy-bar business, were very nice but also ultra-private — to the point where the residents added they had no idea Cascetta had even been pregnant.
“Very private people, kept to themselves,” said Stuart’s wife, Betsy, also 71.
“They came over and introduced themselves when they moved in about two years ago, and then we never heard from them again,” she said. “We didn’t even know she was pregnant.”
Cascetta’s parents were in the home when their daughter entered her firstborn’s room and shot the baby around 7 a.m. Saturday, then turned the gun on herself, killing both of them, police told The Journal News/lohud.
Talty was away at the time. The girl, born around March, was their only child.
“The scene is consistent with a murder/suicide,” police confirmed in a statement.
Another neighbor, Bob and Betsy Stuart’s son, Brad Stuart, 47, who lives closest to the slay scene, said he was awoken by commotion at the property Saturday morning.
“Our dog Bruno just started going bananas at 6:45. I woke up to the dog freaking out, and I figured he really had to go out, so I took him out for a walk, and that’s when the police and the EMS and everybody rolled up,” Brad said.
“They’re very nice people, very pleasant, and they moved in about two years ago, and I’ve seen them maybe twice since then,” he said of Dr. Cascetta and her husband.
“It’s horrible. How can he go on, losing your whole family all at once? How could she do that? It’s unbelievable,” the resident added.
Professional cleaning crews could be seen tending to the property Sunday.
Dr. Cascetta was a hematology-oncology specialist at Mount Sinai.
Her husband owned the energy bar company, Talty Bars. Cascetta served as an adviser for the brand, lending her scientific and medical background to develop a healthy product, her husband’s website says.
Exactly what led to the horrifying incident remains unclear. Social media posts from the couple appeared to show an idyllic and successful life since their 2019 marriage.
Friends, patients and colleagues of Cascetta took to social media as news of the tragedy broke to express their dismay.
“A shocking & terrible tragedy. She was a star in her field, dedicated and lovely, whip smart and a competitive athlete,” wrote Kambri Crews on Facebook.
“I don’t know what what was happening in her life that she felt this was the best end to her story, but I know a large community of survivors, patients and colleagues are broken hearted. I will sorely miss her. She deeply cared for her patients and I am grateful that I was one,” she added.
Friend Eri Barr wrote, “Absolutely devastated hearing this about Krystal Cascetta.
“She was my friend at Albany Med and residency. I always looked up to her.”
Maureen Daly, said, “What horrible news I just heard on the news!
“Dr. Krystal Cascetta you were true to your profession. You were caring and very compassionate to your patients. I will miss our talks. May you and your child RIP!!!!”
Mount Sinai Health System added in a statement, “The Mount Sinai community is greatly saddened by the tragic loss of a Mount Sinai Health System doctor and her child.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Cascetta’s family, friends, colleagues, and patients.”
Cascetta attended Albany Medical College, where she received an award for the compassion she showed patients.
She did her residency at Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine at North Shore University Hospital and received another award for the care she took with her patients.
At Mount Sinai, Cascetta specialized in breast-cancer research, a passion her husband said was inspired by the death of her mother’s best friend from the illness when Cascetta was in middle school.
“When Krystal was in 8th grade, her mother’s best friend passed away from breast cancer,” Talty wrote on the website for his company. “It was this life-altering event that helped Krystal decide that Medical Oncology would be her specialty.
“The people closest to Krystal will tell you that being a doctor is in her DNA,” the Talty Bars website continues. “Krystal, herself, will tell you that she has wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember; that even as a child she could be found wrapping her dolls in gauze.”