Polk County man accused of killing father with hammer

LAKELAND (FOX 13) - The ultimate trust -- between family members -- was broken Thursday night.  Polk detectives say Vincent Moccia bludgeoned his father Anthony to death with a hammer.

"There is no way you can understand someone who acts in such a violent way," said Polk Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donna Wood.

Investigators say Vincent, who had just been released from prison in May, was watching TV with his father about 7:30 p.m.

A few minutes later, police reports say Vincent's mom, Ruby, saw him come out of the bedroom with blood on his face, hands, and leg. He told her, "I did something wrong."

He packed up his dog into his truck, took off, and was arrested after hitting a power pole a few miles away.

Vincent is no stranger to the justice system. Along with being an ex-con, law enforcement has been called to the Moccia home six times in the last few months.

"There have been calls for service involving Vincent Moccia where there has been other physical altercations where other individuals have been involved and certainly other members of his own family have been involved," stated Wood.

"They were partiers," offered Randall Ray. "Everybody knew that."

Apparently there was another side to Vincent as well, and Cynthia Ray saws it more than once.

"Vince was a really nice kid," she told FOX 13. "Every time he came over with my grandson, he hugged my neck: Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. How ya doing?"

"I never suspected anything like this."