A New York City cancer doctor shot her 6-month-old baby and then turned the gun on herself, police said Saturday. Investigators provided scant detail about the tragedy involving Krystal Cascetta, 40, and her infant at the family’s home in Westchester County. But police said in a statement that “the scene is consistent with a murder/suicide.”
Cascetta was an assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai and ran the Mount Sinai Queens Infusion Center. She was an “active investigator of breast cancer clinical trials,” according to her official bio. In 2019, she married Tim Talty, who appears to run a nutrition-bar company where Cascetta served as a medical consultant.
“The people closest to Krystal will tell you that being a doctor is in her DNA. Krystal, herself, will tell you that she has wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember; that even as a child she could be found wrapping her dolls in gauze,” the company’s website says. “When Krystal was in 8th grade, her mother’s best friend passed away from breast cancer. It was this life-altering event that helped Krystal decide that Medical Oncology would be her specialty.” An online gift registry shows the couple had a baby in mid-March.
If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.