COCOA, FL. (THECOUNT) — Olivia Piccolo, 29, made a devastating discovery Wednesday afternoon when she arrived at her former partner’s home in Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida, to collect their children, Remy Dingwall, 7, and Aria Dingwall, 5, and found both children and their father, Joseph Kyle Dingwall, 37, dead from apparent gunshot wounds, authorities said.
Piccolo was scheduled to have custody of the children that day. When she arrived at 100 Sorrento Drive, Dingwall’s home, she could not reach him. She entered the home through a door that was partially open and discovered all three victims, Cocoa Police Chief Evander Collier IV said during a news conference.
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“The door was partially ajar and she went inside and found all three deceased,” Collier said.
Authorities believe Dingwall was responsible for the children’s deaths, and investigators are treating the case as an apparent murder-suicide. Police have not publicly disclosed a motive.
Investigators are also examining the history of calls to the residence. Police had responded to Dingwall’s home 11 times previously for a variety of incidents, including medical issues and reports of suspicious activity, authorities said.
The deaths may have occurred hours before the children’s mother arrived. Neighbor Marcos Garcia told local media that he heard what sounded like two gunshots shortly after midnight Wednesday.
“Two gunshots. Two clear gunshots, and it was 12.20 a.m., midnight,” Garcia said.
Garcia’s doorbell camera later captured a man walking back and forth outside the home with a flashlight, according to reports. Investigators have been examining the circumstances surrounding the deaths, including the reported sounds and surveillance footage.
The tragedy has prompted an outpouring of support for Piccolo, with a fundraising campaign established by a family friend to help her and cover funeral expenses. The campaign had raised more than $15,000 by Friday morning, according to reports.
Cocoa Mayor Michael C. Blake urged the community to continue supporting the grieving family.
“We ask that you continue to hold them up in prayer, show support and love because tough times don’t always last, tough people do,” Blake said, according to reports.
The fundraising page described Remy as a “strong, kind, and intelligent young boy” who enjoyed video games, music and spending time with friends. It said he excelled at the things he pursued and was “a fierce protector of his little sister and his mother.”
Via GoFundMe:
On October 7th, 2026, our best friend Olivia faced the unimaginable. Her two beautiful children, Remy and Aria, were taken from this earth far too soon. Anyone who knew Olivia, even for a short amount of time, knew about her children. You couldn’t know Olivia without knowing how much Remy and Aria meant to her. They were her entire world. Her life revolved around them, and every part of her heart belonged to being their mother.
Remy was a strong, kind, and intelligent young boy who loved his video games, music, and friends. He was in the gifted program at school and excelled at anything he put his mind to. He was a fierce protector of his little sister and his mother. Remy was the kind of boy who made the people around him proud, and he had an entire lifetime ahead of him.
Aria was a bright, courageous, and compassionate little girl who loved her squishy dumplings, all animals, and everything pink, just like her mama. She was only five years old, with so much growing, learning, loving, and living still ahead of her.
Remy and Aria were siblings, best friends, and each other’s little world. They should have had the chance to grow up together, make each other laugh, annoy each other, protect each other, and one day look back on their childhood with a lifetime of memories.
They should have had so many more birthdays.
So many more Christmas mornings.
So many more first days of school.
So many more ordinary days with their mom.
Olivia has always been, and always will be, one of the most hardworking, devoted, and kindest people you could ever be blessed to know. But above everything else, she was an incredible mother. She lived for her children. She loved them more than anything in this world.
There are no words for the kind of pain Olivia is facing now. No mother should ever have to experience the loss of her children, and no amount of words can make this make sense.
We are asking for donations to help Olivia with funeral and memorial expenses, immediate living expenses, and the financial burdens that come with this unimaginable loss, so that she can have the time and space to grieve her babies without having to carry everything else alone.
If you are unable to donate, please share this. Please say their names. Please tell someone about Remy and Aria.
Because they were so much more than the tragedy that took them.
They were Remy and Aria.
They were loved.
They mattered.
And they will never be forgotten.
Please help us surround Olivia with the same love she gave so completely to her children.
For Remy. For Aria. For Olivia.
Aria was remembered as a “bright, courageous, and compassionate little girl” who loved squishy dumplings, animals and the color pink, like her mother.
“She was only five years old, with so much growing, learning, loving, and living still ahead of her,” the fundraiser stated.
The page also described how central the children were to their mother’s life, writing: “Anyone who knew Olivia, even for a short amount of time, knew about her children. You couldn’t know Olivia without knowing how much Remy and Aria meant to her.”
“They were her entire world. Her life revolved around them, and every part of her heart belonged to being their mother,” the page continued.
Cocoa is located in Brevard County on Florida’s east-central Atlantic coast, west of Cape Canaveral and about 46 miles east of Orlando. Police have said they believe the incident was isolated and that there is no active threat to the public.
Google Maps: Sorrento Drive, Cocoa, Florida
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