Suspected killer of young Bucks couple was lost in the grip of heroin, friends say

On the streets of Kensington, where he died, Daniel Mooney was relatively unknown, another member of a generation caught in the vise grip of heroin. But just 10 miles away, in the sleepy Bucks County community where he grew up, the 26-year-old was much more.

A member of a hardworking, respected family. A young man who wrestled with a gnawing habit between stints at a mom-and-pop grocery. Now, those who knew him are struggling to comprehend the violence he left behind as a suspected killer, the perpetrator of a brutal double homicide in a home on the quiet street where his parents live.

"All of us are in shock," said Murray Battleman, president of Murray's Richboro Market, which anchors the Richboro Shopping Center on Second Street Pike. "That doesn't excuse the drugs, and it certainly doesn't excuse this act. But it's a shame when you knew him and you know that he could've been turned around into a productive person."

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office said Mooney carried out the murders of Tyler and Christina Roy, a young couple who lived across the street from his parents in Churchville. The victims were stabbed and shot after what appeared to be a prolonged struggle in the home's upper floor, according to First Assistant District Attorney Gregg Shore.

Investigators believe Mooney acted alone, slipping into the home through a unlocked door sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, when the couple's bodies were found.

Christina Roy, 27, was a professional photographer. Her husband, 28, was a construction estimator. Authorities say they were repeatedly stabbed and shot with a rifle that belonged to Tyler Roy.

The motive for the slayings remained under investigation Friday, and there didn't appear to be a previous link between the suspect and victims. It was unclear if Mooney was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident.

"He was from a good family," said Michelle Brown, a longtime coworker of Mooney's at the market. "Drugs have no boundaries, and no one is immune from it. Now we all have to pray for three families."

>>READ MORE: Suspect in murder of young Bucks County couple found dead of overdose

Mooney's family did not return a request for comment Friday. Shore, at a news conference Wednesday, stressed that his parents fully cooperated with investigators, and cast them as victims of the opioid epidemic.

Mooney died late Tuesday at Temple University Hospital's Episcopal Campus. His death was accidental, caused by "drug intoxication," according to officials from the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office. Police found the Roys' Ford Edge SUV, reported missing after their deaths, in Northeast Philadelphia with Mooney's cellphone inside.

His stint at Murray's Richboro Market began during his days as a student at Council Rock High School South, Battleman said. He started part time, and kept consistent hours throughout his time there. He worked, at various points, alongside his brother, sister, and eventual sister-in-law, Battleman added.

"He was an excellent employee," Battleman said. "With one exception: He had a drug problem."

Over the course of the last decade, Mooney left and came back to the store three times, his co-workers said. Each time to go to a drug rehabilitation program.

One stint was in Florida, at a faith-based facility called Dunklin Memorial Church. Employees at the church didn't return a request for comment, but those who went through the program with him flooded social media in the wake of the news.

"Rest my brother," one wrote. "The fight is over, I'll miss ya."

Battleman and John Brown, the store's manager, said they never hesitated to rehire Mooney when he came back.

"When we know a young man like this who's done well for us before, as long as we don't feel there's a safety issue, we have him back," Battleman said. "We felt bad for him, getting caught up in the mess of that drug."

Mooney's final tenure at the market started in 2015 and lasted until he picked up his final paycheck in December, Battleman said. During that time, he talked about taking classes at Bucks County Community College, studying nursing. Last they heard, he was heading to a residential rehabilitation program in Mays Landing, N.J.

When they saw his face featured prominently in news reports, the staff at the market was reduced to muted disbelief.

"He never seemed capable of doing something like this," Eillen Lagroix, another coworker, said Friday. "It's a shame to think it happens around these parts. You don't think it does, but it does."

"We read about it and hear about it on the news, but when it happens to someone you know, it's completely different," she added.