NEW YORK, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A New York man being investigated in his wife's death wanted her to be buried in Israel, which a rabbi said would have averted a finding she had been strangled.
Rabbi Shaul Robinson, the brother-in-law of Shele Danishefsky -- a 47-year-old money manager found dead in her New York apartment Dec. 31, 2009 -- said burying her in Israel would have prevented the exhumation that made it possible to conduct an autopsy, which determined she had been strangled.
Robinson recalled that as her grieving family gathered at her home, Danishefksy's husband, Rod Covlin, "began talking about that his wife had always expressed an interest in being buried in Israel," the New York Post reported.
"He insisted that was her wish," Robinson said.
Covlin lived in an apartment across the hall from Danishefsky, who was suing him for civil divorce, had a restraining order against him and was scheduled to meet the next day with her lawyer to remove him from her will.
Covlin is under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's office, the Post said.
Robert Gottlieb, Covlin's attorney, denied the 38-year-old killed Danishefsky.
Family members said Covlin had a stone marker placed on Danishefsky's grave reading "Beloved wife and mother," even though she had obtained a religious divorce.
Robinson said the marker did not mention Danishefsky's parents or siblings -- as they had sought.
