News: Fire & Murder Cases on Long Island
(Long Island, N.Y.) A fire in Massapequa left two people dead and others injured at roughly four this morning. The cause of the fire is unknown, though it originated in the garage of a fifty-six-year-old resident’s home. The couple caught in the blaze was the owner’s sister and brother-in-law, both in their fifties.
The couple had been renting the converted garage and living in it at the time of the fire. The garage is connected to the owner’s two-story house, and contained most of the damage without spreading flames to the surrounding area. Firefighters struggled with the flames for at least an hour before securing the area.
A friend of the family’s staying in the house during his visit from Florida was the first to notice the odor of smoke and alerted the owner. In a brave effort, the owner tried to rescue the couple but was pushed back by the heat and flames. He suffered burns on his hands and arms in the attempt, but has been stabilized.
Two volunteer firefighters from the Massapequa Fire Department also suffered minor burns and were taken to the local hospital where they were later released. The two smoke detectors found in the home were ineffective. Some say the steep fee involved with obtaining a town permit to install the devices is to blame.
In another story, authorities believe that the body of a forty-year-old missing woman from the Bronx was found in a wooded area near the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown. The woman was a married mother of four and her husband was a former NYPD housing officer. She was missing since Friday night, which is the same night her husband claims she stormed out of their home after having an argument.
The woman, who was a nurse in the maternity ward of Sound Shore Hospital in Westchester County, was found in a bag near the Baldwin Road Exit by an ATV driver. The area is a popular spot for ATV drivers and is located near the Mohansic Golf Course. The Westchester Medical Examiner is awaiting an autopsy, but the current cause of death is believed to be strangulation.
Her husband identified her body after the discovery at five-thirty Wednesday night. He met with investigators today and brought along two attorneys to the 45th Precinct. Reports have stated that he was scheduled for questioning even before the body was found.
Domestic violence allegations concerning his treatment of his ex-wife caused him a suspension while working as an officer. He later retired in 2000 and NYPD officers claim to have responded at least four times to domestic violence issues involving his current wife. One of the incidents led the missing woman to be hospitalized.
She was last seen around nine Friday evening at the Schylerville residence in Throgs Neck, Bronx that she shared with her husband. Authorities say that her husband is not a suspect but has been considered a “person of interest.” No charges or arrests have been made.
Reports have surfaced claiming that surveillance video footage captured her husband carrying a large object and duffle bag out of their house and into a car which was double-parked on the night of her disappearance. Allegedly, the woman had been attempting to separate from her husband.
Some reports claim that she had told her co-workers that if she went missing, they should suspect her husband. Her family claims to have never liked him and that he stayed away after they learned of the first instance of abuse. She had three children from a previous marriage and a five-year-old daughter with her husband; all of the children will be staying with her relatives.
