Nassau Cop's Ex-Girlfriend, Carjacking Victim's Wife Struggling To Deal With Cold-Blooded Killings
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Shocking reality is settling in for two families who had their loved ones stolen from them in a heinous crime that has stunned the Tri-State Area.
The emotional wife of innocent driver Raymond "Brian" Facey is now demanding to know why convicted felon Darrell Fuller was out on parole.
Meanwhile, the former girlfriend of eight-year Nassau County police veteran Arthur Lopez is also describing the overwhelming loss of her good friend.
Fuller, for his part, remains hospitalized and is expected to survive.
June Facey, who lost her husband Tuesday on the Cross Island Parkway, begged for an explanation as to why Fuller, already with a history of violence, was still on the street.
"I can't believe he got such a senseless death. He didn't deserve it and I would like you guys to ask the question to the system 'Why did they let this animal out to kill my husband after he had already tried to kill someone?'" June Facey told reporters, including CBS 2's Lou Young.
Fuller had done five years behind bars for attempted murder. He shot David Thompson during an argument over a parking space in Queens.
McDonald still carries the mark where one of three bullets fired by Fuller ripped through him.
"I look like this, and I'm looking up into a gun, and I know he's deadly serious about it," McDonald said. "He is scary. I'm scared even now."
Emeline Thompson, David Thompson's mother, stopped by the Facey home Wednesday afternoon to join in the outrage.
"Five years? He shouldn't be out in five years for attempted murder...my son suffers so much," she said.
David Thompson was equally outraged.
"I was surprised to know this guy was out moving like that," David Thompson said. "They should've informed me, he was going to be released; he was going to be paroled."
The death of Officer Lopez was horrific enough, but Raymond Facey was unarmed, defenseless and trying to do the right thing when he died while making a phone call to his daughter.
"He pulled over to speak with my sister. He didn't want to disobey our laws, the laws of this land," Abbigail Facey said.
Meanwhile, Officer Lopez was being remembered for his kindness and for his devotion to his work, and his community. Danielle D'Auria laid flowers at Lopez's doorstep on Wednesday. The two once dated, but remained friends. Her pain was evident as she tried to talk.
"He just loved his family and he's all they have. He was wonderful, a very..he was the best person I ever met," D'Auria told CBS 2's Drew Levinson. "Whoever did this is a horrible person. He had such a good heart. My friends, family, everybody loved him."
Throughout the day, friends and family left flowers and lit candles at Lopez's North Babylon home.
"He was one of the best...I get choked up every time I talk about it," neighbor Rob Roca said-. "He was a really good boy, he was a good man, he was just a kid."
Everyone in the neighborhood who spoke to CBS 2's Levinson described Lopez the same way -- giving, helpful and the kind of person you would want as a neighbor.
"Not a bad thing to say about him, it is just so upsetting," said neighbor Michael Cullen. "Major loss, not just to Nassau County, police officers and around Long Island and the city, but to his neighbors."
At Lopez parent's home in Flushing, Queens, Police guarded the front of their apartment building only friends and family were allowed to visit. No one wanted to talk.
Officer Lopez was a volunteer firefighter for the Dix Hills Fire Department from 2003 to 2005. On Wednesday, the fire chief issued a statement offered the department's deepest sympathy.
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