Police seek former New York City transit cop after wife found dead
LAKE GROVE, N.Y. --Police are searching for a retired New York City transit officer who is missing after his wife was found dead in their Long Island home, reports CBS New York.
A nephew found real estate attorney Tricia Odierna, 42, dead in her bed on Thursday in Lake Grove, N.Y.
"I just thought she was sleeping," her nephew, Joey, told the station.
Relatives said Odierna was the mother of 7-year-old twins -- Alicia and Jake -- and had also taken in Joey and his two brothers after the death of one of her sisters.
"They're completely traumatized," Joey said, of Odierna's children.
"They just want their mommy and daddy, they want to see them," said another of Odierna's sisters, Melanie.
The cause of death is under investigation, but CBS New York reports that police believe Odierna was murdered and are looking for her husband, Paul Leitgeb, a retired New York City transit officer who is now missing.
Joey is afraid to think the worst.
"I'm not going to say my uncle's a murderer because I love him and I just can't see him doing it," Joey said.
"We just want answers, we just need help, we don't know what to do," Melanie said.