A couple in New York who jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Monday were suspected in the death of a family member, FoxNews.com reported.
On Wednesday, Suffern Police Chief Clarke Osborn announced that Nicki Circelli, 40, and Gary Crockett, 41, may have killed Circelli's uncle, 70-year-old William Valenti, over a financial dispute.
The couple had been living with Valenti in Suffern, according to Fox News, and had taken over $1,000 out of his bank account. Additionally, they also left a note indicating they might hurt themselves.
An unidentified law enforcement source told the New York Daily News that one of them choked Valenti in fear that he would notify the police about the stolen money.
Josefina Rodriguez, who lived above Valenti, said she heard a loud noise come from the apartment around 1:30 a.m. on Monday.
"I heard a boom, like something hit the wall. I thought my daughter fell off the bed," she told The Daily News on Tuesday night. "As soon as I got out to check on her, I heard a car run out of the driveway."
"In the morning I didn't hear him cough," she added, referring to Valenti. "He always coughed. And every day I heard his truck. When I didn't hear his truck, I thought something must be wrong."
According to Rodriguez, Valenti was found by his business partner on Monday afternoon.
When investigators arrived at the scene, his partner showed them a letter left behind by Circelli and Crockett, which ended up being extremely significant in identifying them since they didn't have identification on them when they jumped.
There is some confusion over the name of Valenti's niece; some outlets are reporting her name as Nicki Hunt while others report it as Nicki Circelli.
Both Circelli and Crockett had criminal records; she was previously charged for forgery and grand larceny and he had a narcotics possession charge.
