Couple Jumps Off Bridge After Murdering Relative

"SUFFERN, NY — An apparent murder and double suicide that ended with a Suffern, N.Y., couple leaping from the George Washington Bridge on Monday was rooted in a months-long family dispute over money and possible drug use, police said Wednesday.

"Gary Crockett, 41, and his girlfriend, Nicki Hunt, 40, jumped off the bridge around 11 a.m. Monday. Hours later, a relative found the body of Hunt's 70-year-old uncle, William Valenti, who had been strangled in his Suffern home.

"The discovery set off a hunt for Valenti's green Chevrolet Malibu. When Suffern police heard that a couple in their forties jumped off the bridge, they immediately suspected that the suicides were related to the murder, Suffern Police Chief Clarke Osborn said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

"Valenti’s body was discovered in the bedroom at 88 Washington Ave. where he had lived with Crockett and Hunt, police said. The couple appeared to have recently taken between $1,000 and $1,500 from Valenti’s bank account through withdrawals and forged checks, police said. Valenti apparently gave them a deadline to repay the money but they didn’t do it.

"Police found two notes written by Hunt at the home. One said she and Crockett took `Uncle Bill` to the hospital. The other was from Hunt to her four children, apologizing for the life they have led and for her actions. Police would not reveal any more details from the note."

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