Catskill

A veteran parole officer shot and killed his estranged wife, her boyfriend, and then, while trying to evade cops after the double homicide turned the gun on himself, State Police said Monday.

At about 12:45 p.m., Robert Mroczek, a 46-year-old state parole officer since 2005, confronted his estranged wife, Pammi Mroczek, and her boyfriend, Daniel Brennan, at Robert Mroczek's 844 Pennsylvania Ave. home, troopers said.

Pammi Mroczek had not lived there for some time, but had gone back with Brennan to pick up some belongings, said Maj. Patrick Regan of State Police Troop F, which is based in Middletown and handled the investigation.

It's unclear whether Robert Mroczek was home when Pammi Mroczek and Brennan came to the house, or if he came home in the middle of the couple's visit.

Robert Mroczek shot and killed Brennan, 51, of Schenectady, in the driveway. Pammi Mroczek, 49, was found dead in the foyer. Both Pammi Mroczek and Brennan were shot multiple times with a 9mm handgun, Regan said.

The killings occurred in Palenville, a hamlet in the town of Catskill.

Neighbors heard the gunshots and called 911.

After the killings, Robert Mroczek drove west in his Lincoln sedan, Regan said.

Mroczek was spotted by troopers 100 miles from the scene on Interstate 81 in the town of Chenango, in Broome County. When cops tried to pull him over, he sped off, prompting a chase that reached 100 mph and stretched another 35 miles into Cortland County.

There, on I-81 in the town of Cortlandville, troopers laid out a spiked device that pierced Mroczek's tires. Mroczek then pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway.

By the time troopers got to Mroczek's car door, he had killed himself with a gunshot, troopers said.

Regan said there was no history of prior police calls to Robert Mroczek's Palenville home.

As a parole officer, Robert Mroczek carried a gun, though it's unclear if his department-issued weapon was used in the shootings.

Mroczek was hired by the Department of Correctional Services in 1995 as a correction counselor, according to state records. In 2005, he transferred to the Division of Parole.

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which began overseeing the Division of Parole after a 2011 merger, said protocol prevents officials from releasing any personnel information on Mroczek.

Mroczek supervised a seven-county region but spent most of his time working with parolees in Columbia County, DOCCS said.

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