This Day In History

Jan 4 1964
The Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo kills his final victim, Mary Sullivan, age 19, at her Charles Street apartment.


Jan 4 1986
Phil Lynott, founder of heavy metal band "Thin Lizzy", dies from heart failure brought on by a drug overdose.

Jan 4 1997
Rumors run rampant through Israel, particularly over talk radio, that a UFO will land at Tel Aviv on the following day. The predictions are purported to have been made by spoonbender Uri Geller. Thousands flock to the beaches, but no saucers.

Object Shot Out of Sky Above Israeli Nuclear Plant, Military Says

Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli Air Force shot down an unidentified flying object over the Dimona nuclear plant in the Negev Desert Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The object appeared in a designated no-fly zone, the air force was scrambled and the object was shot down, the IDF said.

The object could have been a party balloon, the IDF said, but forces have not yet found the debris to determine what it was.

There have been unconfirmed media reports that it was a motor-driven object. The air force reacted according to procedure when the object was spotted, the IDF said.

The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that last October "IDF warplanes intercepted an Israeli ultralight aircraft that accidentally flew into the area and forced it to land at an airstrip in southern Israel."

It also reported that "an Israeli surface-to-air missile downed a crippled Israeli fighter-bomber that strayed into the restricted zone" during the Six Day War in 1967. The craft's pilot was killed.

S.I. Suspect Eric Bellucci Told Friend He Was With Mossad Before Slayings of His Parents

They got him! Good!
NY Daily News- A mentally ill Staten Island man's behavior grew increasingly bizarre in the weeks leading up to the bloody slaying of his parents, a friend and police sources said.

Eric Bellucci, 30, called an old friend from Stuyvesant High School in the month before his parents' bodies were found on Wednesday night and said he was working with Israeli intelligence.

"He seemed a little paranoid," the friend told the Daily News. "He told me that he was working with the Mossad."

The friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said his former football teammate was worried about terrorism and cited the attempted Times Square bombing.

Scores of mourners paid their respects to Arthur Bellucci, 61, and Marian Bellucci, 56, at their wake yesterday, surrounded by bright flowers and collages of family photos.

"There's a lot of rage right now - it's the way he killed them," one mourner said.

Harry Ritt, 64, of Staten Island, said he had been friends with "Artie" since they worked together at a Wall Street brokerage firm in 1981.


"He was a great guy - very well liked," he said.

A law enforcement source said Bellucci's dad was killed in bed and suffered wounds that led cops to believe he raised his arms in defense.

His mother was stabbed in the throat and tried to make a run for the telephone, leaving blood spatters down the steps, the source said.

Cops believe Bellucci showered, changed clothes and wrapped up any cuts he suffered in the bloodbath, the source said.

Cops said Bellucci ditched his SUV near Newark Airport and caught a flight to Israel.

He was in Israel trying to buy a ticket to China when he was nabbed on Friday. The NYPD was expecting him to be extradited this morning.

A law enforcement source said that after his capture, Bellucci bizarrely told authorities that he was there to avenge his parents and find the Mossad agent who killed them.

Less than a week before the killing, Bellucci sent an email to an ex-girlfriend offering her $500 for the name of each person who caused their breakup, a police source said.

His sister, Vanessa Bellucci, 25, told cops her brother was furious because she and her parents were trying to get him help, a police source said.

She went to the home on Wednesday because her mom and dad weren't answering the phone. She opened the door, saw blood and ran out to call 911.

Since then, former classmates from high school and Williams College, his alma mater, have been calling the NYPD to report his troubling behavior, police sources said.tmoore@nydailynews.com

Police Search for Son of Murdered S.I. Couple

Adding to list of why Staten Island is creepy..

STATEN ISLAND (WABC) -- A Staten Island couple was killed in their home, and the ensuing search for their troubled son led police to his car, parked at Newark Airport.

The victims, 61-year-old Arthur Bellucci and 56-year-old Marian Bellucci, were found in their home on Poillon Avenue by their daughter just after 8 p.m. Wednesday night.

Crime scene investigators carried bags of evidence out of the house on Thursday. Authorities say it was a blood bath.

The family lived in the house over two decades, according to neighbors.

The couple's daughter, Venessa, came to the house and saw blood in the foyer before calling police. She was too terrified to go into the house. Neighbors said she had moved out because she was threatened by her brother, who was mentally ill.

A massive search was launched for the victims' 30-year-old son, and police quickly found his 2007 silver Honda Ridgeline parked at Newark Airport.

Investigators say the son, Eric Bellucci, boarded a flight to Israel on Wednesday afternoon. He is believed to have gone to Tel Aviv.

After finding the dead bodies, police went to check on the well being of other relatives, including several living in the West Village.

The son was described as troubled man who had been hospitalized in the past for mental illness, authorities said.

Bullucci was once a star athlete and academic all-star, but his life spiraled downhill, they said.

He was also a gun collector, who had at least three shotguns and a rifle in his parents' house, where he frequently stayed.

Police were called to the house at least once last month.