By Anna Gustafson
An elderly Fresh Meadows resident who owned a Manhattan jewelry store committed suicide after shooting and killing his wife Wednesday, police and neighbors said.
Morris Green, 76, shot his wife, Charlotte, 78, in the head with a .38-caliber revolver and then shot himself in the chest, police said.
Police said they found the couple at their home on 196th Place in Fresh Meadows a little before 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday after being notified Morris Green did not show up for work Tuesday.
“We were so shocked,” said a neighbor, who did not want to be identified. “Never in a million years did anyone think this would happen. They were wonderful neighbors.”
Morris Green owned Green Brothers, a Manhattan jewelry shop on Fifth Avenue, which neighbors said had been run by the family for decades. He and his wife had been married for more than 50 years and had lived in the Fresh Meadows home located on a quiet tree-lined street for more than 40 years, according to neighbors.
“They were a happy couple,” said another neighbor who wished to remain nameless.
The New York Post reported that Morris Green’s business had been suffering in the recession and he and his wife faced expensive medical bills due to health problems. Neighbors could not confirm this.
Neighbors said Morris Green had heart bypass surgery in May. Charlotte Green had been in and out of doctors’ offices, but neighbors said they were unsure about the specific medical problems she had.
“Even after the bypass, he was still very funny and would joke all the time,” a neighbor said.
The Greens always came to the aid of neighbors, whether it was helping them take out the garbage or consoling them after the loss of a loved one, according to a woman who lived across the street from the couple.
“When my husband died, they took me out to eat,” she said.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
