Cop Opens Pool, Finds Man He Spent Months Hunting

On a quiet Sunday afternoon in East Shoreham, New York, a man preparing his backyard for Memorial Day weekend stumbled upon something unimaginable - a body floating beneath the winter cover of his swimming pool. That alone would not be reassuring. But what makes this case even more chilling is who authorities believe the body belongs to.

A Backyard Surprise - and a Haunting Connection

The discovery happened May 25, 2025, as a homeowner and his teenage son removed the cover from their in-ground pool. They expected algae or maybe a few leaves. What they found instead was a fully clothed, shoeless body under a partially undone section of the pool cover.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina confirmed in a press conference that investigators now believe the body is likely that of 23-year-old Matthew Zoll, a fugitive wanted for allegedly stabbing his father to death in November 2024.

A Crime That Shook a Neighborhood

Matthew Zoll disappeared nearly seven months ago, the same day police allege he murdered his father, 61-year-old postal worker Joseph Zoll, inside their home in nearby Rocky Point.

After the stabbing, Matthew Zoll reportedly fled in an SUV, crashing it less than a mile from where the body was found.

Despite extensive manhunts, including searches by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, Zoll vanished. Officers combed the wooded areas surrounding Brookhaven State Park for days with no sign of him. Some neighbors assumed he had skipped town entirely. “It was very strange … We all thought he just left town. Got on a train or a bus,” said local resident Sharon Healey, according to WNBC.

A Bizarre Twist of Fate

Here’s where the story gets even stranger - the pool where the body was found belongs to Detective Thomas Corso, a Suffolk County officer who had been part of the task force searching for Zoll.

According to property records cited by the New York Post, Corso’s backyard borders the same wooded area where Zoll’s SUV crashed.

Detective Corso and his son were reportedly preparing the pool for summer when they noticed a portion of the Loop-Loc safety cover had been undone. Catalina explained that the body had somehow become “secreted under that portion of the pool cover,” adding that there was no evidence of foul play at the East Shoreham property, according to ABC 7 News.

Still Waiting for Answers

At this time, the body has not been officially identified. Authorities are waiting on DNA test results and an autopsy to confirm both the identity and the cause of death.

Catalina mentioned potential possibilities for Zoll’s death, including drowning, hypothermia, or suffocation.

Police say they found no signs of a struggle or tampering at the pool site, and there’s no indication that anyone intentionally concealed the body. “I don’t know why somebody would try to get under the cover. It’s not a smart thing to do,” said neighbor Paul Gawreluk, according to WNBC.

If confirmed to be Zoll, the discovery brings a grim end to a months-long search - one that quite literally circled back to the backyard of someone who had been looking for him all along.

References: A Man Found a Dead Body Floating in His Backyard Pool. Police Believe it May Be a Missing 23-Year-Old Fugitive | Body Found in Backyard Swimming Pool in East Shoreham Likely 23-Year-Old Murder Suspect: Police | Long Island Home Where the Body of a Fugitive Murder Suspect Was Found in Backyard Pool Belongs to Detective Who Searched for Him: Records | Suffolk police looking into if body found in LI pool is fugitive Matthew Zoll