Bernie Madoff's sister, her husband shot dead in suspected murder-suicide

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The sister of convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff, who swindled more than $50 billion from investors to his company, was found dead Thursday from gunshot wounds with her husband at their Florida home, authorities and media outlets reported Sunday.

Detectives discovered Sondra Wiener, 86, and a 90-year-old man, dead in an apparent murder-suicide around 12:55 p.m. in Boynton Beach, the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

PBSO first identified the man as Martin, but later said his family was invoking Marsy's Law, a state constitutional amendment that shields the names of crime victims released by agencies upon request of the family.

It was not immediately clear which of the Wieners is suspected of killing the other, and an official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner's office.

Madoff died in a federal prison in North Carolina last year just 12 years into a 150-year prison sentence after he was convicted of running the largest Ponzi scheme in history in 2009.

His victims included Hollywood stars such as filmmaker Steven Spielberg and actor Kevin Bacon, as well as his sister, who lost $3 million to his fraud scheme.

The Wieners had been living in the Valencia Lakes senior living community since downsizing from their Palm Beach Gardens home in 2009, the Palm Beach Post reported.

Neighbors in the community received an email from leaders in the community alerting them to the death of the Wieners, which was obtained by the outlet Boca News Now.

"Let me start off by stating that as many of you have heard, we had a tragic situation on Barca Boulevard regarding the passing of Sondra and Marvin Weiner," the internal email reads.

"Our thoughts and condolences go out to their family. There is currently an investigation pending. All I can say is at this time there is no security or safety threat to anyone in the community."

Madoff's son, Mark Madoff, died by suicide from hanging in his New York apartment in 2010. His body was found by his father-in-law, who was alerted to check on him by his wife who was out of town.

If you or someone you know is suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.