In a strange twist to an already bizarre case, accused spouse-killer, Carlos Perez-Olivo, 59, a disbarred lawyer and neighbor of former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, sold his wife’s belongings at a garage sale in Westchester County, New York this past weekend.
According to NYdailynews.com, items available at the sale included Peggy Perez-Olivo’s clothing, handbags, shoes and various other intimate items – pajamas and negligees – at prices as low as $1 an item.
Perez-Olivo’s defense attorney, Robert Buckley, told the Rockland Journal-News that the money collected from the sale would be used to help pay for Perez-Olivo’s defense.
Perez-Olivo has been behind bars since late last year, when he was charged with second-degree murder in the November 2006 shooting of his 55-year-old schoolteacher wife. Authorities allege Perez-Olivo shot and killed his wife and then shot himself, in an attempt to cover it up.
Perez-Olivo told police that he and his wife were driving down a remote Westchester County road on Nov. 18, 2006, when a car carrying a group of men forced his sport utility vehicle (SUV) off the road. According to Perez-Olivo, a Hispanic male approached the SUV and shot him in the stomach and Peggy in the head. The group of men then drove off, at which time Perez-Olivo drove to a nearby hospital. Perez-Olivo survived the alleged attack, but his wife died shortly thereafter.
From the beginning, investigators doubted Perez-Olivo’s story and were unable to find any evidence to substantiate his claims. In December 2007, following a 13-month investigation, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office indicted Perez-Olivo, claiming to have compelling forensic evidence that links him to his wife’s murder. Prosecutors also claim Perez-Olivo was having an extramarital affair and had sent an ex-mistress flowers just two days before the murder.
Aside from the prosecutor’s claims, it is known that Perez-Olivo was having financial difficulties in the months leading up to his wife’s slaying. During the summer of 2006, his income took a blow when the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court disbarred him, based on multiple complaints from former clients who had accused him of misappropriating funds and failing to file court documents.
Some investigators believe money was the motive behind Peggy’s murder.
In December 2006, just one month after the shooting, Perez-Olivo filed a claim to collect $467,000 in life insurance. However, because he was still under investigation, the claim was denied.
Perez-Olivo’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 21.
