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Suffern Police Piece Together Strange Tale Of Suspicious Death

Posted on 30 April 2014 by Editor

Suffern Police Chief Clarke Osborn will hold a press conference Wednesday at 10 a.m. to discuss the suspicious death and strange story of a couple who jumped from the George Washington Bridge to their deaths Monday morning sometime after 11 a.m.

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Couple that leaped to their deaths from the George Washington Bridge Monday are connected to a possible murder in Suffern, NY / Photo of Gary Crockett and Nickie Circelli via Twitter

The man and woman were identified as Gary Crockett, 41, and Nickie Circelli, 40, who both lived at 88 Washington Avenue, Suffern, N.Y.

The bodies of Crockett and Circelli were pulled from the Hudson River barely alive, and taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan, according to Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo.

“Workers on the lower level of the bridge saw something fall from the upper levels and when they looked over they spotted the couple in the water,” reported Hoa Nguyen and James O’Rourke in LoHud Wednesday morning.

The Daily News reported that the couple was witnessed walking along the upper level of the George Washington Monday and held hands as they jumped.

The couple apparently remained unidentified until Suffern Police were called to investigate a strange occurrence at 88 Washington Avenue. News reports initially reported that someone named “Bill,” and presumably Circelli’s uncle, was found dead at the Washington Avenue apartment by a business associate Monday afternoon after “Bill” failed to show up for work.

Suffern Police Chief Clarke Osborn told The Journal News Wednesday that the deceased was actually “Vincent Valenti, who ran a catering truck business, Thunderbird Catering, in the western Rampo village for decades. ”

Also discovered — a letter or note from the bridge jumpers that directly connected them to Circelli’s demise.

Osborn told The Journal News that the GWB jumpers, Hunt and Crockett, are indeed “responsible for the death of  Valenti.

According to LoHud, “Valenti, known to many as “Uncle Billy,” was smothered, with the Rockland Medical Examiner’s Office ruling he died of asphyxiation” — per Chief  Osborn.

The Suffern Police are leading the investigation at this time and will presumably put the pieces of the puzzle together at Wednesday morning’s press conference.

The article has been updated to reflect current information related to the ongoing investigation.

 

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