Friends And Family Grieve Loss Of Couple Involved In Murder-Suicide

Hampton Bays residents Jonathan Fava, 26, and Kelly Lynn Bray, 25, died after suffering gunshot wounds in an apparent murder-suicide at their home last Wednesday night, March 4. Their 1½-year-old daughter, who was in the house at the time, was unharmed.

Mr. Fava and Ms. Bray self-identified as engaged on Facebook. Since the day of the shooting, friends and family members have been posting on the couple’s Facebook pages, sharing memories and messages of love and grief.

Kevin Riffle posted on Mr. Fava’s Facebook page “My heart goes out to you and the family, you will be missed. I love ya brother.”

Derek Jay Jiminez also wrote on his page: “Rest In Peace Jonathan Fava and Kelly Lynn Bray. My prayers go out to your family. May your spirits find peace.”

Vinny Primavera, a family friend of the Favas said, “In all honesty, this hamlet is small — everyone knows everyone, and we all love each other like family, even if we aren’t blood. The Favas are the perfect example of not all family is blood, and not all blood is family.”

Suffolk County Police homicide investigators are calling the incident a murder-suicide — but so far are not able to identify who the shooter was or what weapon or weapons were used.

“At this point in time, we don’t know exactly what transpired. We know that this was not a home invasion, there was no gang involvement and we’re very confident that there’s no threat to the public,” Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki said at a press conference at police headquarters in Hampton Bays last Thursday morning, March 5. “Whatever happened there is in the confines of that house. We’re not going to speculate at this time as to exactly what happened. There is considerable forensic evidence to be gone through.”

Southampton Town Police responded to a 911 call for a shooting at a home on Ponquogue Avenue at approximately 11:30 p.m. The call was made by a 27-year-old woman, identified by police as an acquaintance of the couple who did not live at the home but was in the house at the time it occurred.

Upon arrival, police found the couple, both victims of gunshot wounds. They were taken to area hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.

Chief Skrynecki noted that there was evidence of alcohol use at the scene of the shootings and that police were looking at that as a contributing factor. Officials said there was no indication of any drug use.

Chief Skrynecki said several weapons were retrieved from the home, including long guns, one handgun, and a bow and arrow. Neither resident had a permit for the handgun.

According to police, there had not been any previous calls for domestic violence at the home. Officials said the child is now in the care of a relative, and the female caller is cooperating with police. There was no one else in the home at the time of the shooting.

Mr. Fava had two prior encounters with police, both involving a long gun — on the same day.

In March 2016, Mr. Fava was arrested by Southampton Town Police after firing a shotgun multiple times while walking on and around Corwin Lane in Hampton Bays. Residents who were interviewed said he had been standing in the road and pulling over cars, as well as aiming the shotgun at houses and animals in the neighborhood.

In the second incident, police had also learned that Mr. Fava was involved in an altercation with another man that took place at his home on Pinewood Lane earlier that day.

Police said he has no prior criminal record, although he had been arrested in 2016 for the incidents, suggesting that those records have been sealed by the courts after he completed necessary steps set out by the courts.

Ms. Bray had no criminal record, and the third woman in the house had only a minor arrest record, Chief Skrynecki said.

The Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad, as well as detectives from Southampton Town Police Department, are currently investigating the case.

“Exactly what transpired is what the detectives are working on,” Chief Skrynecki said.