Arrest made in socialite’s murder two years later (update)
By Shawn Cohen, Lorena Mongelli and Bruce Golding
November 13, 2017 | 9:29am
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Lois and Eugene Colley in 2015 AP
An illegal immigrant from Guatemala was charged on Monday in the 2015 bludgeoning death of a Westchester socialite whose playboy son helped break up Gov. Cuomo’s marriage.
Esdras Marroquin Gomez — who had worked as a day laborer at the sprawling estate owned by victim Lois Colley and her husband — was hauled into court two years after the grisly homicide.
Gomez, 32, was secretly indicted for second-degree murder last year, but the paperwork remained sealed until after he was arrested in Miami on Friday, Westchester District Attorney Anthony Scarpino said.
Scarpino said the slaying stemmed from a “dispute,” possibly over money, that erupted when Gomez visited Windswept Farm, Colley’s 300-acre spread overlooking the Titicus Reservoir in North Salem.
Scarpino said Gomez went to the hilltop mansion, “possibly to speak with someone else in the family,” but “confronted Lois” instead.
Gomez allegedly battered Colley, 83, with a fire extinguisher, the pin to which an investigator found lying next to her body in a mud room outside the kitchen.
The extinguisher was later discovered, with Colley’s DNA on it, wrapped in plastic at the bottom of a pond on the property, Scarpino said.
Colley also was hit with a wine bottle during the attack, a source familiar with the probe said.
State police led the investigation, and the source said Gomez emerged as the prime suspect almost immediately.
Colley was married to Eugene Colley, 89, who made a fortune as a McDonald’s restaurant franchisee.
Eugene Colley called 911 after getting a panicked call from a caretaker who found Mrs. Colley’s body on Nov. 9, 2015.
The couple’s four sons include Bruce Colley, an official with the US Polo Association and a fox hunter whose affair with Kerry Kennedy destroyed her marriage to Andrew Cuomo in 2003.
Bruce Colley also split from his wife, Ann Colley, as a result of the infamous fling.
Gomez fled to Guatemala following the killing, then sneaked into Mexico, where he was recently busted as an illegal immigrant, FBI official Michael *McGarrity said.
He was deported to Guatemala by way of Miami, where he was nabbed by the feds.
Defense lawyer Diane Webster said Gomez pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday and was ordered held without bail pending another court appearance next month.
http://nypost.com/2017/11/13/arrest-...o-years-later/
Illegal immigrant charged in 2015 murder of New York socialite
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Esdras Marroquin Gomez pleaded not guilty to a murder charge Monday. (New York State Police)
An illegal immigrant was charged this week in the death of a New York socialite who was found bludgeoned to death in her hilltop estate two years ago, the end result of an elaborate international manhunt.
Esdras Marroquin Gomez, 32, pleaded not guilty Monday at his arraignment on a murder charge in the death of 83-year-old Lois Colley, according to the Westchester County district attorney's office, who said he was indicted by a grand jury last year.
"The murder scene was horrendous," Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino said. "From our evaluation, we believe the murder weapon was a home fire extinguisher, and she was brutally assaulted."
Colley, the wife of a millionaire McDonald’s franchise owner, lived on a 300-acre estate in North Salem called the Windswept Farm. Her son, Bruce, broke up Gov. Andrew Cuomo's marriage after having an affair with Cuomo's then-wife, Kerry Kennedy.
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Colley was member of the local fox hunting club
Gomez had done work there and fled to his native Guatemala just days after the killing, prosecutors said.
He was arrested in Miami this past weekend after being deported from Mexico, where he had been working illegally, according to Scarpino, who described his capture as an elaborate international effort. Mexican authorities deported him to Guatemala and he was placed on a flight that stopped in Miami, where Federal Bureau of Investigation agents boarded the plane and arrested him.
"Mexican authorities located Mr. Gomez, and we brought him back to Westchester County," FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McGarrity said, according to ABC7. "This case illustrates how we are able to reach beyond our borders to find criminals who believe they can elude arrest."
Gomez has since been ordered held without bail and will appear in court again Dec. 7.
Colley's body was discovered in her home by a caretaker who worked at the farm. At the time there was no sign of forced entry, and no valuables had been taken.
Police found a pin from a fire extinguisher next to Colley's body. Several days later, investigators found the fire extinguisher wrapped in a plastic bag in a pond on the property, Scarpino said. Colley's DNA was allegedly discovered on the fire extinguisher.
He was arrested in Miami this past weekend after being deported from Mexico, where he had been working illegally, according to Scarpino, who described his capture as an elaborate international effort. Mexican authorities deported him to Guatemala and he was placed on a flight that stopped in Miami, where Federal Bureau of Investigation agents boarded the plane and arrested him.
"Mexican authorities located Mr. Gomez, and we brought him back to Westchester County," FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McGarrity said, according to ABC7. "This case illustrates how we are able to reach beyond our borders to find criminals who believe they can elude arrest."
Gomez has since been ordered held without bail and will appear in court again Dec. 7.
Colley's body was discovered in her home by a caretaker who worked at the farm. At the time there was no sign of forced entry, and no valuables had been taken.
Police found a pin from a fire extinguisher next to Colley's body. Several days later, investigators found the fire extinguisher wrapped in a plastic bag in a pond on the property, Scarpino said. Colley's DNA was allegedly discovered on the fire extinguisher.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/15...socialite.html
Illegal immigrant admits to murdering socialite Lois Colley
By Max Jaeger
May 6, 2019 | 1:46pm | Updated
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Esdras Marroquin Gomez AP
An illegal immigrant pleaded guilty Monday to murdering millionaire Westchester socialite Lois Colley, whose playboy son infamously helped break up Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s marriage, officials announced.
Esdras Marroquin Gomez, 34, entered the plea in Westchester County Court more than three years after the 2015 slaying, in which he bludgeoned the 83-year-old to death with a fire extinguisher, according to Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino.
“Sending Marroquin Gomez to prison will not bring Lois Colley back but we hope it will bring some closure to her family knowing that justice has been done,” the DA said in a statement.
The Guatemala native, who worked as a laborer on Colley’s 300-acre estate, Windswept Farm, confronted her about a worker’s compensation claim on Nov. 9, 2015, but became enraged and bashed in the socialite’s head.
Colley’s son, Bruce, famously eroded Cuomo’s marriage to political scion Kerry Kennedy when he had an affair with her in 2003.
Gomez hightailed it back to Guatemala shortly after the killing — then fled to Mexico, where he was picked up by authorities in 2017 and eventually extradited to the US.
He faces a maximum of 22 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced June 13, officials said.
Colley’s husband, Eugene, amassed his wealth through an empire of more than 100 McDonald’s franchises.
https://nypost.com/2019/05/06/illega...e-lois-colley/
Illegal immigrant who killed Cuomo-linked socialite with fire extinguisher sentenced
Illegal immigrant who killed Cuomo-linked socialite with fire extinguisher sentenced to life, begs for forgiveness
1 hr ago
By Vandana Rambaran | Fox News
The illegal immigrant who bludgeoned a New York socialite with a fire extinguisher at her Westchester estate in 2015 was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison on Thursday, as he publicly begged for forgiveness.
Esdras Marroquin Gomez had pleaded guilty in May to murdering Lois Colley, the wife of a millionaire McDonald's franchise owner.
Gomez had worked on the Colleys' 300-acre estate about five times but was not employed there at the time of the murder. According to his defense attorney, Gomez went to the property, Windswept Farm, on the day of the murder to talk to Eugene Colley, Lois' husband, because he wanted compensation after a chainsaw injury he had sustained on the property as well as a plane ticket back to his native Guatemala.
Gomez ultimately bludgeoned to death the 83-year-old woman -- whose son made headlines in 2003 after he had an affair with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's wife, Kerry Kennedy, leading to their divorce -- and left her body in the home's laundry room, where a family caretaker later discovered it.
The weapon, a fire extinguisher from the house, was found in a nearby pond and DNA evidence concluded the blood matched Colley.
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Esdras Marroquin Gomez was sentenced to life in prison for murdering Lois Colley. (NYPD, File)
Gomez escaped first to Guatemala, then to Mexico, where he was working illegally before he was deported by Mexican officials back to his home country.
While on a plane back to Guatemala via Miami, Gomez was arrested by the FBI, who had long suspected him in the crime.
After his sentencing in Westchester County, the 34-year-old Gomez asked God for forgiveness and said he wished he could reverse what he'd done and die in Colley's place.
Colley had been married to her husband for 65 years and he often referred to her as “love of my life” and “honey,” according to a letter he wrote to the judge pleading for the maximum sentence for Gomez.
Colley's granddaughter, Christine Colley, told the court, “I’m sad, I’m angry and I’m terrified.” She said she wanted the court to ensure Gomez was put away for life.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-i...gs-forgiveness
