FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A Florida judge has given the widow of a slain millionaire control of his estate even though she is a "person of interest" in his killing.
Broward County Probate Judge Charles Greene Monday dismissed a suit filed by relatives of slain Fort Lauderdale businessman Ben Novack who wanted to block his widow, Narcy Novack, from access to his fortune, The Miami Herald reported.
The Herald said lawyers for the relatives, Stephen McDonald and Bill Crawford, asked Greene to dismiss their suit without prejudice, meaning they can file another challenge to the will at a later date. The attorneys reportedly did not say why they made the request.
The newspaper said the family sought to have Narcy Novack removed as executrix under Florida's slayer statute. The suit claimed she killed her late husband in July, and thus cannot inherit his estate.
Narcy Novack, 53, has been called a suspect in the slaying, but has not been charged.
Citing unnamed sources close to the case, the Herald said it is likely the family's lawyers sought the dismissal because it would have been difficult to prove Narcy Novack killed Ben Novack based on the evidence they had.
