Neighbors of Casey on Rombout Avenue rushed to defend the dead man, saying that Casey was not a sex offender. Casey, whose full name is Wilbur Casey Cuddy, is not listed in New York State’s sex offender registry, and was a licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner. This license would be an additional level of background checking if the pedo allegations were true.
There has been a rumor in Beacon that unnamed employees or employee at the City of Beacon level have been telling community members that Casey did have this offender history, though no evidence has been presented, and even if true, is no justification of murder, but is an intent and effort to smear someone’s name in their death.
Additionally, it is unknown at this time if any individuals in Eddie’s friend circle responded to his social media post with encouragement of him to execute his plan. Some Beacon locals, including some who have moved away but keep up with Beacon news, use aggressive language in comments, including curse words and threats to safety.
Multiple “Friends” of Eddie’s account have since unfriended him. Sixteen “Followers” remain.
Background on Edwin “Eddie” Irizarry
Numerous friends of Eddie in Beacon are shocked, confused and sad. Friends have stated that he loved to fish, and was a calm person.
Eddie’s Facebook page, which goes by “Izzy Zarry,” states that he lives in “Never Never.”
His LinkedIn account, states he lives in Jacksonville, NC. After retiring from the Beacon Police force in 2021, he seems to have gone down south. Public pictures on his Facebook account show scenes of him on a beach with surf. Unconfirmed is if he has children, why he returned to Beacon after moving to NC, and if his time in Beacon was temporary.
Numerous neighbors of Casey say that Eddie moved in to Casey’s residence in or about April 2025. While neighbors say they had not usually seen roommates at Casey’s apartment, the Highlands Current reports that Casey took out a classified ad for a roommate years ago in November 2022. Otherwise, neighbors say, they saw Casey frequently as a communicative person out and about, who enjoyed his cats.
Response To Frequent Statement: “Beacon Has Changed!” or “These NYC People Moving To Beacon Are Changing Things!”
This was a shooting done by a person who lived in Beacon for a very long time. Additionally, the Beacon Police have a well documented history of police brutality which resulted in the federal investigation by the Department of Justice of the Beacon Police force. The department entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice in December 2010 to “reform its policies and practices.”
Eddie served on the Beacon Police force in Beacon for 17 years, retiring in 2021, which puts his starting date near 2004. This is within Beacon’s era of when the Police Department was accused of police brutality, racial profiling and nepotism, as thoroughly covered by the Beacon Dispatch in 2006, one of Beacon’s original blogs.
Eddie doesn’t seem to have public lawsuits against him, as other officers from that time do, such as Richard Sassi Jr., the son of the Police Chief of the same name at the time. The son, Detective Sassi Jr., was found in his boxer shorts in his female informant’s closet after making advances on her until her boyfriend came over, to which Sassi made a false call of burglary to 911, for which he was charged, and added to a slew of other active litigation regarding him.
As for Eddie, when was a patrolman in 2014, he was ordered to fill in for 2 Beacon detectives who were suspended, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. While the Police Chief at the time declined to comment on the circumstances of the suspensions, the article reported that the two detectives “were married but divorce paperwork was filed in 2012, according to a document filed with the Dutchess County Clerk's Office.”
Background on Casey Cuddy
Wilbur K. Casey Cuddy, PMHNP-C was a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, according to his website and HealthCare4PPL.com. He said he specialized in “the treatment of trauma whether complex/developmental or chronic/single episode; however, I also diagnose and treat most other psychiatric disorders (except ADD/ADHD).” He earned Engineering Science and Nursing Bachelor's Degrees, and an MBA and Nursing Master's Degrees.
Since 2015, he “worked as a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-C) with small rural services, with medium & large county agencies, and now with private & group telehealth practices,” he said on his website. “All settings have involved the treatment of diverse populations with moderate-to-severe mental illnesses.”
Unknown at this time is how he and Eddie found each other, being that police officers often carry trauma.
One local mother told A Little Beacon Blog that her child was in the care of Casey Cuddy, and was shocked to learn of his killing. She spoke positively of him, and said he specialized in talk-therapy with her child.
She told ALBB: “Something I found so profound was his respect for single mothers. He mentioned that his mom was a single mother and he took the time to acknowledge the hard work I was putting in. That means something in this patriarchal society. It meant a lot to me. Casey was kind to my child, direct and blunt, but in a developmentally appropriate way. He called on my child to take some responsibility for my child’s own path. Casey was also knowledgeable about attachment theory and attuned to trauma. He was sensitive about potentially upsetting topics and knew when to push and when to back off. More than anything, he was kind and thoughtful and I am beside myself that he is gone.”
Neighbors say that Casey lived at 86 Rombout Avenue with his cats for a number of years. Neighbors say he was outgoing and talkative. He drove a white van and carried a protest poster, “Boycott Everything.”
The neighbors who lived across the street, Tony Ruperto and Brian Garritano, told the Times Union that “they didn’t know the alleged shooter, who they believed had moved in just two months ago, but were friendly with Cuddy, who they said had lived in the building since before they moved in two years ago.” The pair did see police “swarm the first floor apartment” after the 911 call. The next day, at 10am, Tony and Brian did see police remove a body bag from the apartment, they told the newspaper.
In a client review left on August 28, 2018 on Casey’s website, a patient wrote about him: "In the time frame of 3-4 months, Casey Cuddy has been one of the reasons that I am alive today. He helped me work through so many of the problems I refused to face. When I attempted suicide, he called me before I could call him to make sure I was doing okay. It makes me sad that he's moving back to the East Coast and actually made me tear up a bit. I hope he knows how much he truly helped me find my confidence and self-worth, and he helped me realize how much I actually sacrifice for those I love. He's been a positive impact on my life."
According to a theater program found by the Highlands Current from when Casey was an actor performing in a play at the County Players theater in Wappingers Falls, Casey was from the Finger Lakes region, which is in New York State. The newspaper reported that Casey “moved to the Hudson Valley in September 2022 after living in Los Angeles and Oregon. In November 2022, Cuddy placed a classified ad in The Current seeking a roommate to share his first-floor Beacon apartment.
It is unknown at this time if Casey continued to take roommates, or if this was a new occasion. One of his client’s told ALBB that he rented an office on Rte. 52, but had left the office and was doing telehealth only.
Casey indicated on his Facebook page that he kept the profile to list on Facebook Marketplace.
