Criminal Justice
Jury Says Ex-NY Lawyer Murdered Wife; Couple Lived Near Bill & Hillary Clinton
Posted Oct 6, 2008, 03:19 pm CDT
By Martha Neil
A disbarred criminal defense lawyer has been convicted of murdering his wife in 2006, as the couple were on their way home to upscale Westchester County. At the time, they lived three doors away from Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"Carlos Perez-Olivo, 60, shot his wife, Peggy, 55, in the back of the head as she slept in the front passenger seat about 11 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2006," reports the North Country Gazette. "The couple was returning from an evening in New York City. Perez-Olivo was driving the family car northbound on Route 100 in the Town of New Castle en route to their home in Chappaqua."
A Westchester County jury found Perez-Olivo guilty Friday of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, despite the defendant's claim that he and his wife were ambushed and shot by a hit man hired by a disgruntled client, the Journal News explains in a detailed account of the scene at the courtroom.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Perry Perrone said the defendant's life was "spinning out of control" at the time of the murder, only a few months after he was disbarred for stealing money from clients, the newspaper writes. He contended that Perez-Olivo, who had increased the amount of his wife's life insurance, murdered her in an attempt to collect the proceeds, and then concocted a ridiculous story to try to cover up his crime.
Perez-Olivo maintains he is innocent, and plans an appeal, according to his attorney, Christopher McClure.
Perez-Olivo's ex-mistress, Ileana Poole, testified for the prosecution, the Journal News notes.
He could be given 25 years to life when he is sentenced in early December.
Earlier coverage:
New York Times: "Defendant in Westchester Killing Admitted Affair, Court Papers Say"
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