Florida man accused of killing girlfriend, her son and family dog

What started as an ordinary swim at a Sarasota pool allegedly ended in a family annihilation that left a mother, her 6-year-old son and the household dog dead inside a home in the Artistry neighborhood.

Sarasota County deputies said Nicholas Novickis, 34, opened fire on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at 4707 Mondrian Ct., near Rothenbach Park, after the family gathered at his mother’s house to swim. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said deputies arrived around 11:38 a.m. and found Allie Novickis, 34, and her son, Phoenix Novickis, 6, dead inside the residence. The family’s husky was also shot, taken to an emergency veterinarian hospital and later pronounced dead.

Investigators said the mother told them she had gone back to sleep upstairs, then woke to the sound of glass breaking. She said she saw her son shoot Phoenix in the head while the child was in the pool. While she was on the phone with 911, she said Nicholas Novickis shot the dog and dropped the gun. She then took the weapon from him and later found Allie Novickis dead inside the home.

Deputies found Nicholas Novickis in the kitchen and took him into custody without incident. The sheriff’s office charged him with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of animal cruelty, and authorities said he was being held without bond in the Sarasota County Correctional Facility, also referred to in local reports as the Sarasota County Jail.

The case has been made more jarring by what investigators say came before the violence, or rather, what did not. Officials said no arguments were reported before the killings, Nicholas Novickis had no criminal history, and the motive remained unknown as of May 26. Local reporting also said investigators had not confirmed whether Nicholas and Allie Novickis were legally married, even though they shared the same last name.

A probable cause affidavit says surveillance video captured the shooting of Phoenix Novickis. Allie Novickis was seen on video shortly before the gunfire, but her killing was not captured. In an interview with detectives, Nicholas Novickis reportedly made a spontaneous remark expressing regret and described the killing as “f up.”

The image that lingers is not chaos in public, but violence detonating in a supposedly safe family setting, beside a pool where a summer day was supposed to unfold normally. Instead, the next court date became the only thing ahead of a scene that had already turned irreversible.