In an incredibly sad stage of events a Hamilton policeman thought his wife was having an affair with a Beverly officer and shot him in front of a crowded coffee shop before killing himself hours later. The morning of the shooting, Kenneth Nagy confronted Jason Lantych on the phone with his suspicions, and Lantych asked if they could meet in person, telling Nagy, “It’s not what you think, Ken.” Reports show that Lantych suggested meeting at Starbucks and joked that it was because he didn’t want Nagy to shoot him. Whether or not this ill-timed line had given Nagy the idea in the first place, we might not ever know. But after the initial shooting, Nagy returned to the coffee shop several hours later and shot himself in the head.

Although interestingly, prosecutors say that the only person who actually committed a crime was Nagy, and as he was now deceased there was no need for further investigation of this incident. Lantych ultimately survived the ordeal due to quick-thinking bystanders who were able to give rudimentary medical attention to Lantych until he paramedics were able to see him.

Nagy, 43, was a 19-year veteran of the Hamilton department. He and his wife, Katherine, had two children. His wife knew Lantych from her work as the Beverly department’s domestic violence victim advocate. Lantych also tells reporters that he and Nagy’s wife, Katherine, were never intimate and that she had once “poured her heart out,” to Lantych.

The prosecutor’s report said that on the day of the shooting, Nagy called in sick for his midnight shift, woke up his wife, and told her he believed she was having an affair with Lantych; they also discussed divorce, the report said. Found with Nagy’s body at Starbucks was a journal and copy of a suicide note, in which he said he intended to shoot Lantych and kill himself.

Not for the first time has this kind of story been heard of. In fact, there are several stories of officers having affairs with their colleagues and superiors wives. It’s been called one of the most problematic interdepartmental issues within the ranks of officers.

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