A family from Long Island, New York, had big plans for Memorial Day Weekend, which included opening their inground pool for the season. But when the father and teenage son removed the cover, they made a horrifying discovery. They found the body of a man floating in the water. Shockingly, it appears the dead man was 23-year-old Matthew Zoll, a fugitive suspected of murder. Police believe he killed his 61-year-old father, Joseph Zoll, in November 2024. In an even more chilling twist, reports claim suspect’s body was found in the pool in the backyard of a detective actively searching for Zoll.
The Suffolk County Police Department shared photos of Zoll in November, asking for the public’s help finding him. They believed he stabbed his father to death inside their home on November 9. The New York Post reported Zoll allegedly fled the crime scene but crashed his car a short time later. After the crash, investigators believe he took off on foot.
Police didn’t know where Zoll had gone.
Until the horrific May 25 discovery, Zoll’s disappearance remained under investigation.
“Based on the location that the body was found, proximity to what we believe was the crash site of Matthew Zoll, the clothing, the fact that there were no shoes on the individual, we are investigating the possibility, the strong possibility, that it would be Matthew Zoll,” Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina during a May 27 news conference.
Investigators believe Zoll, who reportedly lived with schizophrenia, ran from the crash site and attempted to hide under the pool’s winter cover.
“It was a Loop-Loc cover but it appears that one portion of the Loop-Loc was undone, and somehow the body became secreted under that portion of the pool cover,” Catalina explained.
The body still has to be formally identified.
An autopsy and DNA testing will confirm the identity and cause of death.
According to the New York Post, the home where the family discovered Zoll’s body belongs to Suffolk County Police Detective Thomas Corso. Catalina declined to confirm or deny the homeowner’s identity.
Even though he is the main suspect in the murder of his dad, Zoll shared a dedication to his father on Facebook following his death.
“You were the best dad I could ever ask for. You loved and supported me every step of my journey, and I never doubted that for a second. And while I did not expect you to leave this early in my life, I know you are with me. You are even with me right in this moment, and I know you are always here when I need you,” he wrote. “And while these tears I shed now stream down my face, I find feel strong in my heart. I vow to carry on the love you gave all of us.”
