IN the rarefied world of North Salem in New York state, fox hunting and polo are regular pastimes, as ordinary as football or cricket.
Until just a few days ago, the 5200 people who live in this country town (not to be confused with the historic witchcraft capital) nestled in America’s seventh wealthiest county have never had a reason to feel unsafe.
The event that shattered their privileged and peaceful existence was the brutal murder of 83-year-old Lois Colley, the wife of millionaire Eugene Colley, 88, who made his fortune through the ownership of more than 100 McDonald’s restaurants.
A caretaker found Ms Colley’s body in the laundry of the couple’s hilltop estate, Windswept Farm, at 5.28pm on Monday. Police say she died as a result of blunt force trauma and was likely killed between 3pm and 5pm.
“This is a shocking and disturbing crime in what is usually a quiet and peaceful town in Westchester County,” Lt DeQuatro told a news conference yesterday.
“We’re asking the public to remain vigilant and alert.”
In an unusual development, WKTV reported that police could not confirm Mr Colley’s whereabouts but did not consider him a suspect.
Lt DeQuatro said police were struggling to establish a motive for the murder. Scores of officers, many using police dogs, have been combing the woods and roads surrounding Windswept Farm for clues.
The property is spread across 120 hectares and the grand Colonial-style white house where Ms Colley was found dead is at the top of the long, winding driveway, far from the main road, according to The Journal News.
The Journal today speculated that Mrs Colley may have died in a botched robbery following a string of burglaries in the area. However, there was no sign of forced entry and the only item missing from the home was a small fire extinguisher. Lt DeQuatro confirmed there was evidence the fire extinguisher had been sprayed at the crime scene but would not say if investigators believed it was the murder weapon,AP reported.
New York State police investigator Joseph Becerra told the Journal he did not believe there was any link to the break-ins but confirmed “we are looking at it because of the proximity to the case here”.
Locally, the Colleys are known for their passion for fox hunting and Mr Colley has served as “master of foxhounds” during numerous hunts hosted on their Titicus Rd property. Jackie Kamenstein, the wife Mr Colley’s hunting partner Peter Kamenstein, said the murder had put the whole community on edge.
Ms Colley was a prominent socialite who rubbed shoulders with some of the country’s most powerful families, including the Kennedy clan. The eldest of the couple’s four sons, Bruce, famously broke up the marriage of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo following an alleged tryst with his wife Kerry Kennedy in 2003.
Ms Kennedy is the human rights activist daughter of assassinated US president Bobby Kennedy. Bruce and his wife at the time, Ann Colley, later filed for divorce. In a bizarre twist, Ann Colley turned to Kerry’s brother, Robert F Kennedy Jr, after the breakup, with the pair allegedly ending up as lovers.
Bobby Kennedy Jr’s wife Mary committed suicide in 2012 heartbroken by her husband’s alleged serial cheating.
Ann Colley still serves on the board of the environmental non-profit Riverkeeper alongside Kennedy Jr.
Bruce Colley, who is often referred to as a “playboy” is now married to foodie queen Sandra and spends most of his free time playing polo, sometimes with his pal Prince Harry. He ran glamorous Manhattan restaurant Man Ray with co-investors Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and John Malkovich until it shut down in 2003, coinciding with the Kennedy tryst scandal.
The only other murder in North Salem took place four years ago, when Epifanio Medina, a marijuana dealer, was abducted, driven to the woods, robbed of his jewellery and beaten to death. However, locals considered that crime an anomaly.
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