A couple who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Boynton Beach has been identified as the sister of the late Wall Street fraudster and “Ponzi scheme king” Bernie Madoff and her husband.
Deputies responded to a 911 call on Thursday advising that a man and woman were unresponsive inside their residence. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday identified the couple as 87-year-old Sondra Wiener of Boynton Beach and her 90-year-old husband, Marvin.
They were both found to be deceased as a result of gunshot wounds Thursday afternoon inside their residence, according to the Associated Press.
“Detectives from the Violent Crimes Division arrived on scene to investigate further. After further investigation it appears to be a murder/suicide,” the Sheriff’s Office statement said. Officials said the cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The family invoked Marsy’s Law for the elderly man, which ensures that victims of a crime have equal, constitutional rights as those accused and convicted of crimes.
Bernie Madoff died in prison last year at age 82 and is known for having run the largest investment fraud in U.S. history — a Ponzi scheme that robbed people of as much as $65 billion. He was sentenced to 150 years after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraud and other charges.
