Police are investigating the deaths of 5-year-old Aria Dingwall, 7-year-old Remy Dingwall and their 37-year-old father as an apparent murder-suicide.
COCOA, Fla. — A mother arriving to pick up her two children found them dead inside a Cocoa home along with their father Wednesday, and police are investigating the three deaths as an apparent murder-suicide.
Cocoa police identified the children as 5-year-old Aria Dingwall and 7-year-old Remy Dingwall. Their father, 37-year-old Joseph Kyle Dingwall, was also found dead inside the home. Police said preliminary findings indicate Dingwall killed the children and then died by suicide, though investigators have not publicly released a motive or a complete account of what happened inside the residence.
Officers responded shortly after noon Oct. 7 to the home on Sorrento Drive after the children’s mother called 911. Cocoa Police Chief Evander Collier IV said it was the mother’s day to have custody of the children. She went to the home after she was unable to reach their father, found the door partially open and entered, where she discovered all three dead.
Police initially described the case as an active death investigation and said detectives were interviewing witnesses while crime scene technicians processed the residence. Investigators said the incident appeared to be isolated and there was no active threat to the public.
The investigation also includes surveillance video from outside the home. Police said Dingwall was seen pacing outside. A neighbor, Marcos Garcia, told WESH that he heard what sounded like two gunshots at about 12:20 a.m. and later reviewed security video showing a man outside the residence. Authorities have not said whether the sounds Garcia heard came from the home or were connected to the deaths.
The discovery was not reported until later Wednesday, when the children’s mother arrived at the house. The gap between the neighbor’s account and the 911 call is among the details investigators are examining as they establish a timeline of the deaths.
Police also confirmed officers had previously been called to the residence 11 times for various reasons. Authorities have not publicly detailed the nature of those calls or said whether any of the earlier police responses were connected to the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The children’s mother told WESH through a reporter that she wanted people to know how deeply she loved her children and how remarkable they were. Cocoa Mayor Michael C. Blake also asked the community to support the family as it deals with the deaths.
Investigators have not announced a motive or released a final investigative account. Police continued to describe the case as an apparent murder-suicide based on preliminary findings, with detectives working to determine the sequence of events and circumstances that led to the deaths.
Author note: Last updated October 9, 2026.