NY father kills family, then self, police say

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - A man in the middle of a divorce fatally shot his two children and bludgeoned his wife before killing himself in their sprawling home in an affluent suburb, police said Wednesday.

The bodies of Amy and Sam Friedlander and their children, 8-year-old Gregory and 10-year-old Molly, were discovered Tuesday afternoon in Cross River, north of New York City.

State police Maj. Michael Kopy said the bloodshed occurred Monday night into Tuesday morning.

The children were found in their rooms, covered with bedspreads; a piece of furniture was on the floor next to their mother's body. Police recovered the shotgun the father used; his body was found in the basement.

Police had been alerted by a business partner who was worried because she knew about the divorce and hadn't heard from Amy Friedlander, Kopy said.

Kopy did not give the business partner's name. However, Deborah Bernstein posted a notice on the website of John Jay Prep, an academic and college test prep tutoring service.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Amy Friedlander and her children Molly and Gregory," it said. "Amy was not only a business partner but a personal friend and loving mother. She will be truly missed by us and the community at large."

On Wednesday, police parked their vehicles in front of the Friedlanders' home and challenged anyone who tried to linger; crime-scene tape was stretched across the driveway.

The Journal News said a May 2000 wedding announcement in The New York Times had described Amy Friedlander as a vice president for Chase Manhattan Bank. The wedding announcement said her husband was an associate counsel of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in Manhattan.

The neighborhood, called Michelle Estates, was developed by financier Carl Icahn and has homes valued at around $800,000 to $1 million, the Journal News reported.

A small "For Sale" sign stands at the curb in front of the Friedlanders' home, which is listed for $799,000. It's located on a long, looping road that features some even larger houses on elegantly landscaped properties. But it's clearly a family neighborhood: Some residents have decorated for Halloween, with pumpkins on their porches and fake spider webs across the shrubs.

One neighbor' house has a sign taped to the storm door, with the request, "Please respect privacy."

The Lewisboro school district said the children attended its elementary school.

Lewisboro Police Chief Frank Secret said he knew of no reports of domestic violence.

"This is devastating in our community," he said. "This is something we are not used to."