Body in pool may be fugitive Rocky Point man wanted for killing his dad: report

The body of a man found floating in a backyard pool Sunday afternoon could be that of Matthew Zoll, the 23-year-old fugitive wanted for the brutal stabbing of his father six months ago, Newsday reported Monday.

The grisly discovery was made about 4:20 p.m. at a home on Pal Court, when a resident peeled back a pool cover and spotted the corpse, Suffolk County Police told Greater Long Island. The home is a half-mile from where Zoll is said to have crashed his father Joseph’s black GMC Yukon Nov. 9 while allegedly fleeing the murder scene.

Cops haven’t officially confirmed the identity of the man in the pool, but law enforcement sources reportedly told Newsday that investigators are looking into the possibility that it is Zoll — the prime suspect in the killing of his 54-year-old father at their Rocky Point home on Quail Road.

In response to the report, a Suffolk police spokesperson said, “We are not speculating on the person’s ID. We are awaiting the results from the [medical examiner].

The pool scene was swarmed by homicide detectives and sealed off with crime tape into the evening. The news report noted that a dispatcher at the time could be heard on Broadcastify calling in the find: “Rescue is going to be unverified.”

Police had launched a massive manhunt for Zoll last fall, after he allegedly knifed his father multiple times before fleeing in the SUV and crashing at the corner of Route 25A and William Floyd Parkway. Despite searches by K-9 units and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force across 1,600-acre Brookhaven State Park and other densely wooded areas along the parkway, Zoll had seemingly vanished without a trace — until possibly now.

The pool where the body was found backs up to a wooded stretch connected to William Floyd Parkway, near where Zoll was last known to be, Newsday noted in its report.

The Suffolk County Medical Examiner is performing an autopsy to determine the man’s cause of death and to positively identify him.

Zoll, described as 6-foot-1, 150 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and a scar under his left eye, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had previously gone missing after reportedly going off his medication, according to a November New York Post report.

Joseph Zoll was a longtime U.S. Postal Service carrier in Riverhead and a former MTA employee. He left behind three other grown children.

As of earlier this month, Suffolk police told Greater Long Island the case was still active and that Zoll remained at large.

Police ask anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1.800.220.TIPS.

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Prior coverage

Man’s body found in pool —under protective cover — in East Shoreham

6 months later, search continues for LI man accused of killing his dad