Bernie Madoff’s sister and brother-in-law are dead in a murder-suicide at their Florida home—the latest grim chapter in the family’s history.
The Palm Beach Sheriff”s Office said detectives were called to the elderly couple’s Boynton Beach residence on Thursday afternoon by a 911 call. Inside they found Sondra Wiener, 87, and her husband Marvin, 90, dead of gunshot wounds.
Authorities did not release Marvin’s name at the request of his family, but Florida media outlets reported it. The sheriff’s office did not make the incident public until Sunday morning.
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“After further investigation it appears to be a murder/suicide,” the sheriff’s office said.
Madoff, the mastermind of the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, died in prison last year while serving a 150-year sentence.
The convicted swindler’s elder son, Mark Madoff, killed himself two years after his father’s arrest, and his other son, Andrew Madoff, died of cancer in 2014.
Wiener was reportedly one of Madoff’s victims, having invested millions that she lost when his financial house of cards collapsed.
Back in 2009, the New York Post reported that she was trying to sell her home and was no longer able to afford the fees at her country club.
Charles Wiener, Sondra’s son and former Madoff company executive, told the Post at the time that his mother was a “victim,” and that it had “been a very painful experience” for the entire family.
Reached by phone by The Daily Beast on Sunday afternoon, Wiener had no comment.
Wiener joined the Madoff firm in 1978, according to Insider, working his way up to become the company’s director of administration. It is unclear how much he knew about his uncle’s illegal dealings.
He and Sondra Wiener, along with other Madoff relatives, were named in a 2010 lawsuit seeking to recoup any family funds by a trustee appointed to represent Madoff’s victims.
