The old saying “money is the root of all evil” manifested itself early Tuesday morning when a mother was gunned down by her son following a dispute over his inheritance.
Loretta Bruno, 48, and her son Andrew Eloissaint had recently clashed over the remaining money from the estate of his deceased father, Aurelio Eloissaint. After his 2011 death, Bruno left the home that she shared with Andrew and her two other children, who were all named as inheriters of the property only if she died. In addition to the house, there was an unspecified amount of funds that the father left behind. When Bruno told her son that it had all been spent, Andrew reportedly turned violent towards his mother.
“If you don’t give me my money, you’re going to see what’s going to happen to you,” he reportedly told Bruno. Around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, police say Andrew carried out these threats. When a friend dropped Bruno off at a bus stop near her home so that she could catch the public transportation to work, her son was waiting in nearby bushes. As she approached the bus stop, he ambushed Bruno, shooting her several times before fleeing. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Andrew was caught soon after and charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for shooting at the friend who gave his mother a ride that fateful morning.
Family members described Bruno as a hardworking and dedicated mother who came from Haiti years ago to give her family a better life.
“She’s a hard worker. She loves her kids so much. She worked for those kids, and it’s devastating,” said Bruno’s cousin, Guddeursse Gaspard.
The family also revealed that they’d been working on getting Andrew support for his mental health struggles recently but were unsuccessful.
