Lloyd Harbor Man Accused Of Drowning Mom Pled Not Guilty

By Jano Tantongco

jtantongco@longislandergroup.com

Denis Cullen Jr.

A Lloyd Harbor man who has been charged in connection with the murder of his mother pled not guilty on Tuesday, authorities said.

Twenty-three-year-old Denis Cullen Jr. was arraigned at Suffolk Criminal Court in Riverhead, two weeks after police said he intentionally drowned his mother, 63-year-old Elizabeth Cullen, in the family pool at their White Hill Road home.

Judge Stephen Braslow remanded Denis Cullen Jr. to jail without bail, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. A court conference is scheduled for Sept. 28. A psychiatric exam was also ordered, court records show.

The indictment states that Cullen allegedly caused the death of his mother by “neck compression and immersion in water,” Spota stated.

The district attorney added that Cullen told police he argued with his mother over him not taking his medication and drowned her in their backyard swimming pool. That statement was recorded, according to Spota.

Elizabeth Cullen was the daughter of the late Maj. Gen. George William Casey, according to an engagement announcement published by The New York Times in 1983. She also owned Cold Spring Harbor-based interior design firm Winn Cullen Interiors, according to published reports.