we are hearing from our sources that 23-year-old dennis cullen jr. was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia several years ago, and was released recently from a loss. he is being charged with second degree murder in his death of his mother, 63-year-old elizabeth cullen. it happened at their home in cold spring harbor yesterday afternoon. about 20 minutes this morning. >> spoke to him for a couple of minutes. he is pretty calm. and as i indicated, he hasn't been convicted of anything, so he is not sorry at this point. he hasn't said i'm sorry. >> reporter: and we've also learned more about the victim here, elizabeth cullen, comes from a high ranking military family her brother, the former army chief of staff george casey. her father, the late general a helicopter crash during vietnam. cullen is being held on $8 million bail. we are live in central islip, kristen thorn channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> long island railroad service is back up and running after a train fatally struck a person. for several hours three branches experienced delays because of t

murder, accused of intentionally drowning his mother in their backyard. 23-year-old dennis cullen jr. was arrested nearly two hours after his mother's body was found in cold spring harbor. 63-year-old elizabeth cullen's body was found and dennis cullen arrived at the home. >>> police are searching for a killer after a deadly double shooting in the bronx. police are at the scene on where a 17-year-old boy was shot in the chest and killed and a 21-year-old man was shot in the stomach, critically wounded. if you have information call police. >>> developing this morning three olympic swimmers are set to speak with police in rio de janeiro. new video shows swimmers leaving the rio airport after being pulled from their flights home and detained. the men were with ryan lochte when lochte says they were the u.s. yesterday. >>> big delays john del giorno in news copter 7 over brooklyn. good morning. >> reporter: bad news for those folks coming in from staten island, this is a big delay on the expressway. you can see what seems to be a minor accident inbound just before the split for the bqe an

sources say dennis cullen was once hospitalized after a suicide attempt. >> mrs. cullen was the nicest lady that you could ever meet. it's heartbreaking. >> reporter: the family has a proud history of military service. his grandfather on his mo war major general, his uncle a u.s. army commander. he is now in jail being held on $5 million bail. in lloyd harbor, long island, carolyn gusoff, cbs 2 news. >> elizabeth cullen leaves three other children. no one at the house would comment today. >>> new at 6:00, also on long island, an islip man is charged after allegedly grabbing cash from more than a police say 25-year-old donald generelli terrorized clerks by stealing cash from registers. police say no weapon was displayed, no injuries but customers are relieved there's been an arrest. >> i think it's frightening. i think that people come for coffee and the employees are just trying to work and that's really scary that someone would come in and make them feel unsafe. >> the man is accused of hitting 14 stores in early june. >>> first flames now felonies. r victimized t

police arrested 23-year-old dennis cullen. he intentionally droined 63-year-old elizabeth cullen in her pool. the police found her around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. they had gone to the home after receiving an earlier request for a welfare check. >>> new this morning we learn police say a man with a knife assaulted a woman near a subway stochlt jen maxfield has more this morning. jen. >> reporter: the suspect in this case is a registered sex offender and he's wanted for sexually assaulting and robbing a 27-year-old woman earlier this week. but it's how he was identified that has the nypd praising their officers. we're going to show you the tweets now that the 83rd precinct tweeted out last night. a call from, get this, wanted rapist. they spoke with king and got the perp. get this. the perp called to get a ride. we gave him one. thanks, svu. the suspect is a 52-year-old man. he sexually assaulted a 27-year-old woman at knifepoint in brooklyn. police have also charged him it is unclear why mann called police in the first place. h

the suffolk county homicide department was called in an not two hours later dennis cullen returned home where he lived with his mother and put under arrest. >> while we were processing the scene, that's when he returned to the scene and we placed him unarrest meal, and that was at approximately 5:50 p.m. >>reporter: in an affluent neighborhood with houses spread across grassy acres, neighbors were hesitant to comment. >> it's tragic and i'm going to talk. >>reporter: but remember elizabeth cullen as a kind neighbor and mother. what was she like? >> lovely. lovely. >>reporter: good mother? >> yeah, great mom. great mom. >>reporter: cullen's defense attorney says he does have a history of mental illness. authorities say he has no criminal history, but if found guilty he faces 25 years to life in state prison. we're live in the suffolk county courthouse, ali bauman, cbs 2 news. >> ali, thank you. >>> breaking news this noon in the ryan lochte investigation. robbed at gunpoint appear to be false. according to a brazilian police official. cbs 2's meg baker is following the latest development

her son, dennis cullen jr., was arrested at the family home a short time later. police say just before 4:00 cullen was killed intentionally drowned in the family's swimming pool at 70 white hall road. when police arrived they found her body near the pool cullen's son was not home at the time, but it does appear this morning that he did contact a family member, possibly his sister, and told her what he had done. he returned to the house a short time later, where he was immediately arrested by police who were already at the home. >> we were processing the scene, ai arrived at approximately 4:15 p.m. we were processing the scene, that is when he returned to the scene and we based him under arrest immediately, and that was at approximately 5:50 p.m. >> reporter: police have not said what cullen's motive was, why he killed his mother. obviously this has rattled this entire community as this family now searches for answers. dennis cullen jr. has been degree murder. live in cold spring harbor this morning, i'm diana rocco channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> thank you. >>> 4:3

police say they've charged a man with the murder of his own mother in lloyd harbor. 23-year-old dennis cullen is accused of drowning 63-year-old elizabeth cullen in their back yard pool. >>> police are searching for a man who tried to rob an off- duty cop in the bronx. it happened last night near crotona park. police say the officer fired the robber was not hit and ran off. >>> the u.s. olympic committee says two american swimmers detained by brazilian authorities last night have been released. jack conquer and gunnar bentz have agreed to cooperate with police, investigating their claims that they were rob. a third swimmer in the case, jimmy fegan will also speak to police. ryan lochte who claimed a robber put a gun to his head is already back in the u.s. >>> cleanup and damage estimatil south shore marina. a security camera shows the flame that is tore through the boats there. cbs 2's jennifer mclogan spoke with distraught boat owners in each patchogue. >> it's like losing a home. >>reporter: boaters rush to the marina for a first glance in person, overcome with emotion after seeing photos a

it escalated and dennis cullen and dragged her to the deep end of the pool. cullen is charged with second- degree murder. >> first, forced out of their homes by fire. now also the victims of a burglary. somebody broke into a fire damaged buildings in yofngers yonkers. six people had to be rescued after they were trapped by the flames. that fire was caused by an over loaded extension cord and outlets. >>> you're never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic he our camera looking south. got a beautiful sunrise on the way. coming up just after 6:00, here's our camera in brooklyn. looking down toward the battery, 75-degreings, going to be a great start to your weekend. no showers to speak of. high pressure from the great lakes to new england. going to make for great weather. here's the way it should be. sunny, pleasant, 76 by what a nice morning here. 79 by 10:00 to 11:00. hour here. to upper 80s this afternoon and moderate humidity. weather and traffic together every 7 minutes. what's going on out there? >> we have a lot of action on the roads. we'll g

that confession from dennis cullen who sitting in jail on $8 million bond. the 23-year-old argued with his mom because he wasn't taking his medication for paranoid schizophrenia. he put her in a head lock and theandricked her to the deep end. >>> new york city police commissioner making it clear that there are no suspects and police are not close to an of a murdered jogger in queens. this despite the parents of the 30-year-old saying there are a number of strong leads and the an arrest could be days away. her father is pleading with a female relative who he thinks knows something. >> she is in great distress and we know she wants to make that the call. >> it's been 16 days since their daughter was strangled and sexually assaulted. >>> firefighters struggling to contain a ferocious wildfire. the wildfire is 22% contained. sweeping into the mountains and high desert 60 miles east of l.a. veteran firefighters were caught off guard by the intensity. emergency evacuations are of homes. >>> a quick thinking clerk trapped armed robbers as they try to get away. but

suffolk county police charge a man with the murder of his mother in lloyd harbor. 23-year-old dennis cullen is accused of intentionally drowning 63-year-old elizabeth cullen spent the night in the precinct. he is expected to be arraigned later today. >>> police are on the hunt for a man who robbed an off-duty cop in the bronx. it happened just before 7:00 last night on clinton avenue near crotona park. police say the man grabbed some necklaces the officer was wearing. there was a struggle. the officer fired one shot. police say the robber was not hit and was able to escape. >>> now let's get over to vanessa with your forecast. vanessa. >> all right. we've got temperatures in the 60s and 70s, but it's a little sticky out there this morning, 73 and to start off your day in speonk, 72 degrees. on the satellite and radar picture, we saw on that live shot the clouds are thick overhead, but we also do have some wet weather moving on through. very light rain, especially to the northeast and east of the city. after the 8:00 hour, things begin to taper off an mid morning we get a break and some suns

suffolk county prosecutors say dennis cullen confessed to grabbing his mother in a head lock and dragging her into the deep end of the pool. investigators say this started as an argument over cullen not taking his medication. he did plead not guilty. >>> detectives investigating the murder of a queens jogger are inpekting a new area for clues. entered the howard beach park where katrina vetrano was sexually assaulted and strangled. vetrano's parents are now calling on the killer's family for help. >> we need for them to come forward. >> grandma, mommy, daughter, you have to do this. >> the vetrano family is offering a $100 information leading to an arrest. >>> emotions ran high outside a queens courtroom where oscar morrell was arraigned for murder. they say morrell is innocent but members of the muslim community wanted him to face hate crime charges. they say they feel less safe after the murders. officers should be fired in an alleged cover up in the shooting of an african-american teen. the seven officers are accused of filing false reports in the police shooting of laquan macdonald tw

prosecutors say 23-year-old dennis cullen jr. got into an argument with his mother about taking his psychiatric medication of the they say he put 63-year-old elizabeth a headlock while swimming at their home in lloyd harbor. prosecutors he then dragged her to the deepened of the pool and drowned her. her body was found behind a shed in the backyard. >>> coming up at 5:00, we'll tell you what prosecutors say cullen did after the killing. >>> mystified, that is how mayor bill de blasio is describing new yorkers as police continue to look into a motive for the killing of an imam and his associate. meanwhile, religious leaders hate crime. eyewitness news reporter nj burkett is live in the garden section of queens with details. nj? >> reporter: that's right. the mayor says people are mystified and he is absolutely right. no one more so than the city's muslim community. there is no known connection between the alleged killer and the victims. police say they have answered virtually every question about this case, except one. the motive.

. >> reporter: a stoic dennis cullen en route to court showed no signs of a violent fight but prosecutors say the 23-year-old described in chilling detail be a desperate struggle as he drowned his mother elizabeth in the backyard pool in a rage after she yelled at him for not taking his medication. >> that argument escalated to the point where, um, she had poked him. walked from the shallow end of the pool with her in the headlock. >> reporter: and with a calm demeanor, prosecutors say cullen admitted he dragged her lifeless body out of the pool, then showered, swiped his mother's car keys, money and took a train to manhattan where he confessed his crime to his sister, who called police. the 59'2" interior decorate -- 5'2" interior decorar as win cullen lived are her husband in lloyd harbor. only a court-appointed attorney was in court as he was charged with intentional murder. >> at this stage there's a lot of work to be done. have to determine if he has a psychiatric background. have to determine if he is under a doctor's care. >> reporter: neighbors describe a childhood battling mental

of drowning his mother in the family swimming pool is in jail on $5 million bond. 23-year-old dennis cullen mother was found wednesday in the backyard of their lloyd harbor home. police say she had scolded him for not taking his medication. >> she had poked him. then he -- after she poked him, he put her in a head lock, walked from the shallow end of the pool with her in the head lock. >> neighbors say cullen has been battling mental illness since childhood. he is charged with second degree murder. >>> also on long island, an islip man is facing charges this morning after police say he restaurants. police say 25-year-old donald jennareli terrorized clerks by reaching across counters and taking cash from registers. customers say they're relieved there's been an arrest. >> i think it's frightening. i think that people come for their morning coffee, and the employees are just trying to work and that's really scary that someone would come in and make them feel unsafe. >>> the mta is expanding use of electronic tickets. riders on the new haven line can buy tickets on their smartphones with the e

a long island man accused of killing his mother is expected in court this morning. 23-year-old dennis cullen is facing murders charges. he drowned cullen in the pool at her home last week. the prosecutors say that cullen confessed to grabbing her in a head lock and dragging her to the deep end of the family pool during an argument. >>> accused of sexually assaulting two patients. larry jones assaulted both women while they were getting x-rays sunday. it's unclear if there are any other victims. we're told jones had worked at the hospital released a statement that read, we are committed to the safety of our patients. have zero tolerance for such behavior. hour opt police acted swiftly in response to the patient's complaint and immediately terminated that individual. >>> sunday's horrific crash on the long island expressway has claimed a sixth life. 71-year-old passed away yesterday at the hospital. police are now investigating whether speed was a factor in that three-car crash in manorville. that accident killed a former aide to governor cuomo and three members of the pinellas family. >>> pre

accused of intentionally drowning his mother in their backyard pool in suffolk county. 23-year-old dennis cullen was arrested last night nearly two hours after his mother's body was found in cold spring harbor. police were doing a welfare check and they found the body of 63-year-old elizabeth cullen. >>> we are now seeing a picture off-duty officer in the bronx. this happened last night. the officer fired his gun when the man tried to take several chains off his neck. it is not clear if the suspect was hit, but he got away with . >>> meteorologist bill evans with the exclusive accu-weather forecast. >> reporter: cloudy skies, sun breaking through later. for now a couple of showers around, 73 degrees. jersey shore, 73 degrees, 74 coast alarcon con. the last of the showers are cutting across coastal connecticut to suffolk county, long island. a few sprinkles around the urban areas of new jersey. sun starts breaking out at 11:00. temperature gets to 85. >>> back to warm and humid for tomorrow and saturday. sunday we have sun and clouds, high 84. going to be a couple of thunderstorms around probably

police say 23-year-old dennis cullen intentionally drowned elizabeth cullen in her own pool. police found the 63-year-old's body yesterday afternoon. they went to the home after receiving a question to check on her. >>> t m police officer's gun to kill a bodega worker in the bronx is due in course today. please were removing elf ram guzman, when he allegedly grabbed a gun from a police officer's holster. police say he fired 15 shots, killing one man. he had worked across the street and came over to warn people he history. >>> steven regatta is still undergoing a psychiatric he evaluation. >>> lauren scala has the commute. >> limited service has been restored, but all westbound trains will be making all local stops. the oyster bay branch, that remains suspended. but they are making process. dd and watch out for a accident. >>> let's check the weather. light rain. 85 is the high. tomorrow humid with thunderstorms, a high of 87. >>> coming up on the "today" show mast and al learn a thing or two about fashion from a couple of brazil's top models. ?? ?? >> we're back now. 8:30 on