May 7, 2009 5:50 pm US/Eastern
Aventura Man Charged With Wife's Murder In Court
Click Here to read Kaufman's arrest warrant
AVENTURA (CBS4) ―
-
-
Adam Kaufman, 36, has been charged with second-degree murder 17 months after his wife died.
An Aventura real estate executive accused in his wife's murder will be arraigned Thursday in a Miami-Dade courtroom.
Adam Kaufman, 36, is charged with second degree murder in the death of Eleonora Kaufman.
On the morning of November 7th Kaufman, a real-estate executive and former school teacher, called 911 to say he had found his wife on the floor of their master bedroom bathroom.
During the call, Kaufman reportedly told police, "I don't know what's going on. My wife is on the bathroom floor dying."
He also told the dispatcher that "she's got marks on her neck."
Kaufman said he woke up at around 5:30 a.m. and noticed his wife wasn't in their bed. When he got up to look for her, he found her in the bathroom. He said his wife had vomited and a magazine rack had caused the markings on his wife's neck.
An autopsy later showed she had not vomited and that the magazine rack could not have caused her injuries.
When police tried to question him about his wife's death, Kaufman retained a lawyer and invoked his right to remain silent.
For the next 17 months, Kaufman lived his life and continued to show up to his workplace on 3300 block of Sheridan Street in Hollywood. Property records show he had filed a widow tax exemption on his Aventura home.
The medical examiner listed his wife's death as undetermined until all the evidence was gathered from the scene. In his final ruling, Dr. Bruce Hyma, chief medical examiner for the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office, said Eleonora Kaufman was strangled to death. He listed the official cause of death in his report as mechanical asphyxiation.
When asked why it would take 17 months to arrest him, Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said in an email, "Investigations have their own timetables."
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
Super Bowl Ad: Snickers & Betty White
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments