As facts about his life surface, friends are defending the memory of a man who died in a Spring Valley lake.

John Kazigo, 32, was seeking psychiatric help at the Golden Acres Home when police say he waded into Lake Loretta at Memorial Park, went under the water and died May 16. Responders said rescue attempts were hampered by murky water.

News 12 Hudson Valley has learned Kazigo was diagnosed with bipolar disorder shortly after graduating from West Point. In August 2005, his brother was convicted of killing their father, Joseph, a Long Island surgeon. The brother admitted he beat his sleeping father to death with a baseball bat and dumped his body in a wooded Lewisboro area.

Friends also said Kazigo's father verbally and physically abused the brothers, who grew up in Somers.

Some close to Kazigo believe his father's death caused him to be in and out of hospitals. Friend Deborah Rosso said Kazigo was never given the proper medication to deal with his problems. "To portray him as being constantly mentally ill, that's not a fact," she said.

Kazigo's funeral was held Monday. A medical examiner has yet to determine the exact casue of death.