David Laffer, a hockey fan with a job in shipping and receiving, was getting his first taste of married life two years ago as he danced to Etta James' "At Last" with his new wife, Melinda Brady, on their wedding night on New York's Long Island.
Those details from the couple's wedding announcement provide stark contrast to the scene Wednesday, when the 33-year-old man was arrested in connection with a Father's Day massacre that left four dead at a Long Island pharmacy.
Following an intense three-day manhunt, Laffer, 33, of Medford, N.Y., was arrested by Suffolk County police at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, and Brady, 29, was taken into custody shortly afterward, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a statement.
Laffer was charged with first degree murder and resisting arrest. Brady was charged with third degree robbery for her involvement in the incident and for obstructing governmental administration.
Both will be held overnight in the fifth and fourth precincts, respectively, and will be arraigned in court Thursday in Central Islip.
Peter Spano, a contractor who was working next door when authorities arrived, said Laffer resembled the man seen in surveillance video from the robbery Sunday, in which a gunman methodically shot and killed two employees and two customers at Haven Drugs.
"It looked just like him except without the beard," Spano told the Post. "He looked like somebody who was beat down. He had his head down."
Laffer, who has no prior criminal record, met his wife in 2005 through mutual friends.
"The two hit it off instantly and have been together ever since," according to a 2009 newspaper wedding announcement. Laffer later proposed while at a New York Islanders hockey game.
"It was quite overwhelming," Brady said, according to the announcement. "I was so surprised and everyone was watching."
But media reports suggest Brady developed a prescription drug addiction and is suspected of being the getaway driver in the pharmacy robbery. Laffer is said to have recently lost his job.
In addition, Laffer's Facebook page lists a semi-automatic handgun -- the Springfield XD -- as one of his "activities and interests," alongside a Long Island-based photography company.
But some of Laffer's neighbors told the New York Daily News they were stunned by the development.
"I've known David since he was a child," Zaida Ayala told the newspaper. "He was just a nice, quiet boy."
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