The sister of Wall Street con artist Bernie Madoff and her husband were found dead last week in an apparent murder-suicide in Florida, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Sunday that two elderly residents had been found dead in Boynton Beach on Thursday.
Both the 90-year-old man and an elderly woman were discovered dead with gunshot wounds, said the sheriff's office said, which identified the woman as Sondra Wiener, 87.
She is the sister of Madoff, who died in prison last year after having scammed thousands of investors out of billions of dollars in one of the largest Ponzi schemes uncovered by authorities, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The sheriff's office did not confirm the relationship, and Wiener's family declined to comment Sunday, calling it a private family matter.
Wiener’s son, David, told the New York Post in 2009 that his mother had been one of Madoff’s victims when the newspaper reported that she was “desperately” selling her Palm Beach estate.
The family of the man found dead invoked Marsy's Law, which seeks to protect the privacy rights of crime victims, but the sheriff's office appeared to name him in their release. The Sun Sentinel identified the man as Wiener's husband.
The cause of death will officially be determined by the medical examiner.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
