Post by Scumhunter on Jan 16, 2016 10:37:55 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: New York Times)
NORTH SALEM, N.Y. — This pastoral playground in the northeast corner of Westchester County, laced with horse paddocks and stone walls, has long been a draw for the wealthy and well-connected. Among those who call it home are David Letterman, the composer Alan Menken and the financier Steven Rattner. Michael R. Bloomberg, who has many homes, also owns an estate here.
But even in such rarefied company, Lois Colley, who the police say was murdered in her home, stood out. Mrs. Colley, 83, lived on a 300-acre hilltop estate, called Windswept Farm, with her husband, Eugene Colley, 88, who built his fortune as the owner of scores of McDonald’s franchises.
Mrs. Colley was a pillar of the community — a fixture of a local garden club; a mainstay of the Golden’s Bridge Hounds, whose traditional fox hunts are a major social event every fall; a philanthropist who did not seek the spotlight, and a protector of open space.
“She was always very engaging and really kind of a matriarch of the town,” said John Kolb, a banker, whose property borders the Colley estate on Titicus Road. “She was a very sweet lady.”
Neighbors and town residents were still reeling on Wednesday from the news that the police were investigating a murder in their idyllic community. Mrs. Colley’s body was found by a caretaker late on Monday afternoon in the laundry room of the couple’s capacious white house, which sits at the end of a long driveway, out of view from the road.
The police, who say there are few leads, theorize that Mrs. Colley was killed between 3 and 5 p.m.; an autopsy showed she died of blunt force trauma. There was no sign of forced entry into the home, investigators said. The only thing missing was a small fire extinguisher, and there was evidence of foamy residue around the body.
On Wednesday, the New York State Police said they were exploring the possibility of a link to a spate of burglaries in Ridgefield, Conn., which borders North Salem. Since late October, there have been four break-ins in Ridgefield.
“We’re looking at all avenues at this point,” said Joseph Becerra, a State Police investigator. “That’s one avenue, but at this time we don’t believe there’s a connection.”
Lt. Paul DeQuarto of the State Police appealed to residents to come forward with any potential evidence. “We’re asking the public that if they come across a fire extinguisher on the property, on the side of the road, that we definitely would like to know about that,” he said on Tuesday.
With a mist lending a gloom to the otherwise sumptuous landscape of hayfields and pastures, residents reacted with horror to the killing. Those who knew her well, or only in passing, shared their impressions of a fabulously wealthy woman who had a common touch.
Linda Salinger, a past president of the Brewster-Carmel Garden Club, of which Mrs. Colley was a longtime member, said she was generous with her knowledge of horticulture and struck everyone with her sweet disposition. In September, after the group’s flower show, Mrs. Colley offered up her home for a luncheon and bought orchids to thank the judges who participated in the event.
“She was just so down to earth,” Ms. Salinger said. “She was generous, and she was just gentle, very gentle.”
She was perhaps most closely identified with fox hunting, an ancient tradition with red-frocked riders and arcane rules that has persisted in this 23-square-mile town, about 50 miles north of Manhattan. Mr. Colley and one of the couple’s four sons were among several “masters of the foxhounds,” which, according to the Golden’s Bridge Hounds website, means they are “in charge of every facet of the Hunt.”
“Gene Colley is the longest-reigning master,” said Susan Thompson, referring to Mrs. Colley’s husband by his nickname. “It is a neat group. Opening day of the hunt is a big occasion. People who have nothing to do with horses go out very early in the morning when the hounds are blessed. It’s beautiful — like a scene out of the film ‘Tom Jones.’ ”
Ms. Thompson, the historian for North Salem, said the continued popularity of fox-hunting was one of the charms and quirks of the town, which has managed to stave off the sprawl and development of southern Westchester.
Restrictive zoning and an active conservation group, the North Salem Open Land Foundation, have helped keep the landscape remarkably rural, Ms. Thompson said, as if a patch of Vermont had been plunked down in the middle of a suburban county.
Indeed, the tranquillity of the countryside here, and the relative lack of crime in town, had residents puzzling over possible answers, none of them pleasant. Some speculated that Mrs. Colley happened on an intruder in a town where people are perhaps too trusting.
“Doors are never locked,” said Donna Bonelli, a retired caterer, who added that she had just seen the Colleys on Saturday at a reception to celebrate the opening of a new firehouse. Her husband, Mike Bonelli, agreed: “We’ve been away for a week and left our door unlocked.”
In Croton Falls, a hamlet in the town of North Salem, two police investigators emerged on Wednesday from the unassuming brick building at 4 Front Street that houses the Colley Group, Mr. Colley’s firm. At a news conference the day before, the police said that Mr. Colley was not a suspect.
As they grappled with their disbelief and distress, friends and fellow residents seemed to agree on one thing: No one should have wanted to harm Mrs. Colley.
“She was a wonderful person,” said Paul Rinaldi, 76, who years ago had served with Mr. Colley on the town’s Republican Party committee. “I don’t think there’s anybody who had a bad thing to say about her.”
www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/nyregion/shock-and-few-leads-in-westchester-county-after-murder-of-lois-colley-society-matriarch.html
Thoughts? The reason I decided to make a thread on this case is that it's *possible* it will be profiled on season 3 of The Hunt. John Walsh described he would do a case on an 83-year old woman bludgeoned to death on her farm who was a friend of his and seeing how Walsh is from Upstate New York, it would make sense this would be the case. (The Hunt has done missing cases without an unknown suspect but has yet to do an unsolved murder case without a known suspect- this would be the first one).
It has been theorized this could have been an inside job- There were no signs of forced entry and no surveillance video, and the only thing missing from the $25 million estate was the small household fire extinguisher. Earlier, two workers on the estate were arrested and accused of stealing about $30,000 worth of hay over nearly three years. However, they have not been charged so far. In addition, the housekeeper who found Colley and Colley's husband have been ruled out as suspects.
Even if it turns out this isn't a Hunt case, it's still a tragic and brutal murder. Colley, despite her wealth, sounded like a very down to Earth woman that did not deserve to die the way she died. And justice needs to be served.
Admin Note #1: According to articles, anyone with information about Colley's death is asked to call investigators at 914-277-3177 or the police 24-hour line at 914-769-2600.
Admin Note #2: If you have any news-related updated information on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
Other Relevant Links:
www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/nyregion/lois-colley-murder-investigation-hay-theft-arrests.html
nypost.com/2015/11/12/investigators-questioning-staff-relatives-in-ny-socialites-murder/
www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/cops-seek-fire-extinguisher-westchester-woman-death-article-1.2431184
www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/11/10/north-salem-homicide/75505208/
