Prosecutor: NY doctor's death "can only be described as an ambush"
NEW YORK -- Prosecutors say a 58-year-old pediatrician who was found dead inside her Westchester County mansion was attacked by her husband while she showered, and stabbed nearly two dozen times.
Tax specialist Julius Reich was arraigned Wednesday in the death of his wife, Robin Goldman, whose body was found in an upstairs bathroom in the couple's Scarsdale, N.Y., house.
Authorities believe that at some point between 8 and 10 a.m. on Jan. 20, Reich used an 8-inch kitchen knife to stab Goldman 22 times, puncturing her hands, chest, abdomen and back, Westchester County's acting District Attorney James McCarty said in a statement Tuesday.
"In what can only be described as an ambush, the defendant, as alleged in the indictment, entered the bathroom while his wife was showering and repeatedly stabbed her to death," McCarty said.
Reich, who later called 911 to report that his wife had been attacked, was arrested the next day. The 62-year-old has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder and criminal weapon possession charges. Reich's attorney could not be reached for comment.
Neighbors in the small upscale town, which hadn't seen a murder since 1977, said Reich was estranged from his wife, with whom he has three children.
Reich filed for divorce in August, court records show. Goldman was killed just a few days before the couple's first scheduled court appearance.
Dr. Felise Milan, a course director at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where Goldman taught in a course on doctor-patient communication, said in a Jan. 21 email to 48 Hours' Crimesider that Goldman's death was "a terrible loss."
"(Goldman was) much loved by her students as well as the faculty who have taught beside her. She was smart, sensitive, dedicated," Milan wrote.
Reich is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. His next appearance is scheduled for April 5.