Authorities say a Florida woman was driven by conspiracy theories. She was arrested after the death of a sheriff’s deputy, which they say was the result of an “ambush” planned by the woman’s family that hurt two other cops.
After Lake County Master Deputy Sheriff Bradley Michael Link was shot and killed at a home in Eustis, Fla. on Friday, Aug. 2, Julie Sulpizio is being charged with murder and multiple counts of attempted murder.
During a news conference that was streamed on Facebook, Lake County officials said that deputies Stefano Gargano and Harold Howell were hurt in the shooting.
At the press conference, Sheriff Peyton Grinnell talked about what happened before the killing.
Police were called to a 911 call about a woman named Sulpizio who was reportedly breaking into someone’s home and getting violent.
“The complainant stated she was acting religious, accusing them of being sinners, and [saying that] she knows ‘what they did,'” It was Grinnell. “They said that Julie Sulpizio was their neighbor.” But Julie says, “I am Helen by God’s will.””
Grinnell says that Sulpizio told the responding deputy that her neighbors were rapists and reiterated her claims that she was “Helen” and “Julie is in heaven.”
Grinnell said that Sulpizio allegedly wanted her neighbors to walk in front of her into her house before the police came. The neighbors didn’t trust her. The neighbors say that Sulpizio also told them that her husband, Michael Sulpizio, was “her God.”
After arresting Sulpizio and calling for help, Grinnell said officers went to her house to search it to make sure her husband and kids were okay. There were two dead dogs found in the house, according to Grinnell.
Link and Howell tried to get into the house through the back door after officers tried and failed to get in touch with the people living there, Grinnell says.
According to Grinnell, Michael Sulpizio is thought to have fired several shots, hitting Link in the back and Howell in the wrist. According to Grinnell, Howell and the other officers ran out of the house, but Link couldn’t get out before he was shot again.
Then, more officers were sent to the scene while first responders tried to talk to the people living in the house.
As Grinnell says, Julie is said to have said at this point, “My king will kill all of you.”
Gargano was hit by several shots that went through a wall while he was on a tactical team. As for Grinnell, he said he is steady, and Howell is sure to get better.
Grinnell says that Michael Sulpizio and his two daughters, Savannah and Cheyenne Sulpizio, all killed themselves with guns.
It’s not clear right now if Julie Sulpizio has pleaded guilty or hired a lawyer.
Over $140,000 has been raised for Link’s wife through a GoFundMe page.
Grinnell said that the police officers who came to the scene were “heroes.”
