TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — A 25-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder after police said he shot and killed his father in their Tarpon Springs home. 

  • Police: Son, 25 shoots and kills father, 68
  • James Costello shot after arguing with son
  • Evan James Costello taken into custody, facing murder charge

According to police, Evan James Costello has been taken into custody after police received a 911 call at 1 a.m. from a man saying he had shot his father inside their Lonesome Pine Lane home.

According to an arrest affidavit, the younger Costello was arguing with his 68-year-old father, James Costello, and shot him twice. 

Police said the argument began after the younger man's dog possibly ate his father's medication. 

After a return trip from the vet, an argument continued, police said. Evan Costello became enraged, retrieved a handgun and shot his father twice, police said. 

Police said he then called 911, saying "I shot my Dad." 

James Costello died at the scene. 

During the 911 call, which authorities released Tuesday, Evan Costello can be heard saying his life isn't going well.

"My dog got really sick tonight and ate one of my dad's pills or something, and I just, I don't know, I got upset," he said during the call.

Court documents show this was not the first time police were called to the home. In 2015, the elder Costello pleaded no contest to punching his son in the head, causing him to fall and injure himself.

Those documents also show Evan came to live with his father when he was 21 and not working or going to school.

Neighbors we spoke to in the family's neighborhood insist those documents do not tell the whole story, however. They describe Costello, a lifelong construction worker who built the home he and his son lived in, as a loving man who tried to help everyone, including his son.

Evan James Costello
Evan James Costello has been taken into custody after police received a 911 call at 1 a.m. from a man saying he had shot his father inside their Lonesome Pine Lane home. (Pinellas County Jail)