PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: A Florida woman who is accused of murdering her fiance and her mother has been declared incompetent to stand trial by a judge. Alexandra Cupolo, 29, blamed the “occult” for fatally shooting Andrew Sturm, 41, and Jacqueline Cupolo, 56, as per an arrest affidavit out of Palm Beach Gardens.
Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Kirk Volker ruled the accused incompetent to face two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm at a recently reported hearing on June 28. Cupolo was ordered to stay at a facility run by the Department of Children and Families.
The agency was assigned the task of providing a review of the defendant’s condition every six months. The court scheduled a status check hearing to take place on December 13, Law and Crime reports.
Neighbors heard three gunshots on the day of the murder
According to the arrest affidavit, authorities from Palm Beach Gardens responded to the address on Arbor Crest Way on April 12, 2022, as Sturm, who was an ER physician, did not show up to work that morning. One of the neighbors claimed that he heard three gunshots earlier at 3:30 a.m., police said.
An affidavit states that authorities looked through a window to see a woman, lying in bed, who was later identified as Alexandra Cupolo. “They were knocking and were unable to get an answer,” officers wrote. “Fearing for her safety, the front door of the residence was breached to check on the occupants.”
The defendant claims it was an act of self-defense
Police discovered two bodies on the floor in the “bedroom/office on the northwest corner of the residence.” It was Sturm and Jacqueline Cupolo, both of whom suffered gunshot wounds, they said. The accused had a pulse and appeared to be in and out of consciousness, officers said.
“She woke up and stated, ‘Look in the fridge,’ ‘the occult made me do this, it was self-defense’ before going unconscious again,” police said. Officers noted that a kitchen note repeated the self-defense claim. “The occult were messing with me,” the note allegedly stated. “Don’t believe anything bad. I am telling the truth.”
According to the affidavit, an accompanying manila envelope contained Alexandra Cupolo’s last will and testament.
What did the police recover from the crime scene?
Police said they discovered a Smith and Wesson .380 caliber pistol on the end table of the bedroom where they found Alexandra Cupolo. They also located six .380 caliber casings in the home; one was in the bedroom, where there was a hole in the wall from the bullet.
Officers said that the defendant admitted to shooting both the victims post-Miranda at the hospital. “My mom is a b—-, so I shot her,” she allegedly said. When asked if she killed Sturm, the defendant allegedly said, " Because he was standing next to her. It’s alright. He’s at peace.”
According to the affidavit, Cupolo said that she first opened fire in her bedroom as a test because she never fired a gun before and wanted to try it first.
