New Jersey

Berks County Man Who Killed 2, Set Self on Fire Identified, Police Say

"We went to the window and the flames were shooting up above the trees already, so it must have been engulfed really fast"

berks county fatal fire 11-24-2019
NBC10

State police say a man who beat an eastern Pennsylvania couple to death with a hammer and then died after setting himself on fire in the garage has been identified as the woman's adult son.

Police in Berks County said Wednesday that DNA tests identified the third person found after the fire as 40-year-old Adam DeLuca, son of 63-year-old Joanne DeLuca.

She and 60-year-old Ira Reed Jr. were found dead Nov. 23 in the Union Township home. Authorities said earlier that Adam DeLuca died of smoke inhalation after using an accelerant to set himself on fire. He is also believed to have killed two dogs and two cats.

Neighbors said the three moved there several years ago from southern New Jersey after losing their home in Superstorm Sandy.

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