In Bucks, 2 dead in ‘love rectangle’

It was, the district attorney said, "a love rectangle."

Around 5:25 a.m. Friday in Nockamixon Township, Bucks County, Lloyd Hill, 41, stabbed to death his estranged wife, Stefanie Lynn Hill, 37, and fatally bludgeoned the man she was living with, Fred Tarantino, 44, with an aluminum baseball bat, District Attorney David Heckler said.

Fred Tarantino was the estranged husband of Tara Tarantino, with whom Lloyd Hill was living in Quakertown.

The couples had met at church, Heckler said, and began going out together as friends. Fred Tarantino and Stefanie Hill became a couple shortly thereafter, leaving Tara Tarantino and Lloyd Hill disgruntled together.

According to Hill's daughter, Lloyd Hill had sent a text message last week threatening to kill Stefanie Hill and Fred Tarantino, Heckler said.

Along with the bloodied baseball bat, a broken kitchen knife with human hair and blood on it was found at the scene.

"Even if your feelings are hurt, even if you can justify it in your head, the taking of another human life is never anything but wrong," Heckler said. He added that prosecutors were considering the death penalty.

Hill was arrested about a mile north of Palisades Middle School after a manhunt that lasted several hours.

Bridget O'Connell, superintendent for the Palisades School District, said in a statement, that although the arrest did not occur on school property, "We are deeply saddened by a tragic event that occurred today involving adults in the Palisades community. As a district, student and staff safety is our primary concern."

As a result, the district entered a brief lockdown at all schools as a precaution.

Hill was being held without bail Friday night in the Bucks County Correctional Facility.

Contact staff writer Shaj Mathew at 215-854-4500 or smathew@philly.com.