Man alleges wife, NYPD psychologist, tried to kill him
NEW YORK -- A suburban New York City man is suing his wife, a former senior psychologist with the NYPD, claiming she shot him in the back of the head as he slept so that she could be with her lover.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed last week in Westchester County, Kenneth Dearden, 47, a prominent real estate developer, awoke at around 4 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2013 to a "searing pain in his jaw" and his pillow covered in blood.
Not realizing he had been shot, he made his way downstairs in the Yonkers, N.Y. home he shared with his wife, Emily, 46, and their two daughters. He found his wife lying on the floor of their family room, with her eyes closed, claiming she had been hit on the head, the lawsuit says.
Police were called and when they arrived, Kenneth Dearden told them he thought an intruder broke into the house - something authorities were readily skeptical of since there were no signs of forced entry, the home alarm hadn't sounded and the family's dog hadn't reacted, the suit says.
It wasn't until Kenneth Dearden was transported to the hospital that it was realized he had been shot and authorities returned to the home to investigate further, according to the lawsuit.
Charges have not been filed in the case, but Kenneth Dearden accuses his wife, Emily.
Dearden says she "failed to check on her children to make sure that they were safe" in the aftermath of the incident, and that "instead she chose to go downstairs to the basement alone," where pistols that were given to Emily by her parents were later found by police.
The caliber of bullet from one of those pistols was consistent with the caliber of bullet removed from Kenneth Dearden's head, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit also says Emily Dearden chose to remain at the house while her husband was transported to the hospital, and when police returned soon after to further investigate, they found her washing the clothes she had been wearing. She also asked police if they had a warrant, according to the suit.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges Emily Dearden had been having an affair with a man from Texas named Warren David Roudebush and that he had flown to New York the day of the shooting. Emily met with Roudebush the next day before going to the hospital to see her husband, the suit claims.
Emily Dearden was being pressured by Roudebush to end her marriage so that they could be together, the lawsuit alleges. CBS New York reports Emily Dearden filed for divorce nine months after the shooting of her husband.
Det. Lt. Patrick McCormack of the Yonkers Police Department told 48 Hours' Crimesider on Friday the investigation into the incident is "active and ongoing."
"It's a complex investigation," he said.
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore told CBS New York that the case is very much on her radar.
"We are fully familiar with everything that's going on in this case," she said. "...We are following and examining the evidence, and we'll take the evidence where it leads."
A spokesperson for the NYPD told Crimesider Emily Dearden was relieved of her position as a senior psychologist for the department several months ago and was assigned to administrative duties. The NYPD says its Internal Affairs Bureau is monitoring the criminal investigation being conducted in the case.
