Friend on Cape Fear Serpentarium owner killed: ‘He was a good soul’

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Dean Ripa was known for his love of reptiles.

“He was carving his own way through life,” Mark Kositch, a close friend, said.

Until police received a very unexpected call from the Cape Fear Serpentarium. Ripa, 60, was found shot to death in the apartment above the Serpenatrium, which he owned. His wife Regina Ripa, 40, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Michael Parker has been a friend of Dean’s since he was 16-years-old and found Dean’s body. It was an experience he wishes didn’t happen.

“I’m just shattered,” Parker said. “I mean, they were like a family to me. Him and his wife and his son… and now, you know, I’m just… my world’s gone.”

Wilmington Police spokeswoman Cathryn Lindsay said when officers arrived at the home, they found Dean with a gunshot wound. Police say he died at the scene.

“He would always ask me ‘Mark are you hungry?’ He would invite me up to his apartment, where he and Regina would cook me dinner. We would eat. We would talk about snakes, and he was always giving,” Kositch said.

Many people have spoken out on Facebook to express their sadness about Ripa’s death, but it has not affected the business, as the doors are still open, and friends have come forward to help keep the Serpentarium open and keep the animals safe.

“It’s like clockwork. It’s like a machine. We’re gonna keep it open, especially in his memory,” Parker said.

Kostich had been friends with Ripa for years and says this loss is shocking. Both he and Parker wish they could speak to him one more time.

“He was just a genuine friend. He’s like a brother to me, you know? I lost a brother yesterday. He was great to me. And I genuinely believed that he cared. And I never got to tell him that. But I cared about him. He was a good soul. He was a good person on this earth and he’s gonna be sorely missed by this guy,” Kositch said.

“I love you, my brother,” Parker said as he held back tears.

Ripa’s wife is currently being held in New Hanover County jail without a bond and she will have her first appearance in court tomorrow.