By JOHN ANDERSON
A frequent hunting trip by three brothers from Florida and Connecticut to Allegany County was supposed to be to repair fractured relationships. Instead, the trip turned fatal, as two brothers were shot dead and the third brother is in the Allegany County Jail.
The Wellsville Sun has learned more details about the case, as police and prosecutors are collecting evidence and statements to go against a potential self-defense claim at trial.
On Monday, Amity-based State Police charged Scot Thompson, 65, of Englewood, Florida with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal use of a firearm. At his arraignment, Thompson claimed it was in self defense.
Thompson was represented by an Allegany County public defender in court and has asked for a preliminary hearing.
THE INCIDENT
The family is originally from Livingston County. It is not known if they are from Hunt or Dansville, but they moved out of the area to Connecticut and Florida years ago. They have hunting camps in Hunt and in Allegany County in the town of Allen.
On Sunday night around 10:06 p.m., troopers responded to a disturbance at the Thompson’s hunting camp on Botsford Hollow Road.
One of the brothers called 911 because of a physical altercation with Scot Thompson, police said.
When troopers arrived, Scot Thompson was gone and his brothers, David E. Thompson, 69, of Florida and Mark B. Thompson, 70, of Connecticut died from gunshots from a rifle.
Allegany County District Attorney Ian Jones told the Wellsville Sun when they arrived, one brother was inside the hunting cabin and the other brother was in the doorway.
“He was in the doorway and it appears he was trying to exit,” Jones said. “(Scot Thompson) is claiming he was acting in self defense.”Scot Thompson got in his brother David’s red, 2019 Dodge Ram and took off from Allen toward Geneseo in Livingston County.
Going to the hunting camps was not just an annual trip, Jones said they frequent the two hunting camps.
“Ultimately, the three brothers got into a disagreement over what appears to be a long-standing feud,” Jones said. “The documents I have did not specify exactly what it was, but it was a family issue between the three of them that they were trying to work out.”
Trooper James O’Callaghan is the public information officer for Troop A in Western New York, which includes Allegany County. He spent part of his career in Wellsville and knows the Southern Tier well.
O’Callaghan said none of the brothers have a criminal history.
PHONE CALLS BEFORE THE ARREST
As Scot Thompson left the crime scene in his brother’s truck, he made two calls, one to his son and one to his sister-in-law.
“It sounds like he reached out to his son who advised him to turn himself in,” Jones said.
Kennedy Mason, a reporter for Gulf Coast News Now, the ABC station in Fort Myers, Fla., was able to speak to a sister, Jane (Sweeney) Thompson, who is married to David Thompson.
Read that reporting from Florida here
After leaving the murder scene, Scot called his brother’s wife to tell her what happened before turning himself in.
John Sweeney, the sister of Jane, told Gulf Coast News Now, “I was surprised, so he called Jane last night and apologized. That was surprising to hear. That’s how Jane, I think, found out about it.”
Scot Thompson agreed to turn himself in. He drove into Livingston County and gave himself up at the Geneseo Police Department Sunday night around 11:30 p.m.
Mason, after finding out about the second phone call, has investigators doing more investigations with all family members.
“The suspect did make phone calls after the fact, so we are getting phone records and subpoenas,” O’Callaghan told the Wellsville Sun. “So, we are not going to release who was shot first or second. We are going through the motion of documenting the evidence. We have to talk to family members, spouses and kids in different states. We have to find out if this was calculated.”
WHAT’S NEXT AND REACTIONS
Jones is going over paperwork and preparing for any motions Scot Thompson or his lawyer or a public defender may make.
But after meeting with troopers and reviewing the investigation so far, he is ready to proceed with the initial charges.
“There are two counts of intentional second-degree murder,” Jones said when asked about the self-defense claim. “It appears those charges are appropriate and those are the charges we will pursue.”
At arraignment, no bail was set. Scot Thompson will spend Thanksgiving in the jail in Belmont.
Sweeney told Gulf Coast News Now, “I just can’t believe it because I’ve hunted with all three of those guys … I’ve met (Scot) before.”
Sweeney talked to his sister the day after the fatal shooting. He told Gulf Coast News, “I just talked to (Jane) this morning for a while, but they were both very strong in their faith, and I’m sure she’s going to fall back on that to help her out with prayer. They enjoyed going down to the beach and just sunning in the sun. They liked to go down there and read, and they did a lot of boating together.”
An autopsy was being performed at UR Medicine Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
The investigation is being conducted by the New York State Police Forensic Identification Unit and the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation along with the Allegany County District Attorney’s Office. The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, Geneseo Police Department and the Allegany County Coroner assisted in the investigation.
Read the initial reporting from John Anderson:
