By Ayala Ben-Yehuda
Judith Wiener, 59, and her daughter Jessie, 24, of Little Neck, were found dead April 13 in a room at the Royal Inn in Manhasset, police said. They were last seen leaving their 58th Avenue home at 6 p.m. April 11 in a red 1990 Plymouth, police said.
Nassau County police spokesman Officer Michael Aronsen said the women's deaths were the result of an apparent suicide. Lt. Edward Rutter of the 111th Precinct said the women left no note but empty pill capsules were found in the hotel room along with ice cream “in order to make it easier to consume.”
Rutter did not know what kind of pills the women took, and the Nassau County medical examiner was still awaiting the results of toxicology tests Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman said.
“We were told they had attempted suicide in the past,” he said.
The women were reported missing by Judith Wiener's husband, Barry, around midnight on the night of April 11, 111th Precinct Capt. Thomas Pilkington said.
“He felt it was just not normal for them not to be home,” Pilkington said. The women had said they were going to the Scobee Diner for dinner, he said. The diner closed April 10 after a fire caused damage to its two kitchens.
Wiener declined comment.
Credit card records led police to the Manhasset hotel the next day, the captain said.
Rutter said Judith Wiener had heart problems and also received dialysis treatments three times a week. He said she retired from PS 184 in Whitestone, where she had been a teacher.
An assistant principal at the school who did not want her name used said Wiener was a sixth-grade teacher at the time of her retirement three years ago.
“All the staff members at PS 184 mourn her loss and really miss her,” she said. “Everyone was quite upset.”
Pilkington said Jessie Wiener suffered from bipolar disorder, according to her father.
Reach reporter Ayala Ben-Yehuda by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
