In 2009, Bernice Novack and her son,

Fontainebleau Miami Beach The Fontainebleau Miami Beach (also known as Fontainebleau Hotel) is a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Designed by Morris Lapidus, the luxury hotel opened in 1954. In 2007, the Fontainebleau Hotel was ranked ninety-third in the American Institute ...

hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., were murdered three months apart. Narcy Novack (née Narcisa Véliz Pacheco; born 1956), Ben's estranged wife, was convicted of orchestrating the murders and after a highly publicized trial, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Crimes

On April 5, 2009, Ben's 87-year-old mother, Bernice (December 2, 1921 – April 4, 2009), was found dead in her

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...

garage. Her husband Ben Novack Sr., who built the hotel and owned it until 1977, had died in 1985. Her death was initially ruled to be the result of an accidental fall while trying to get out of her car in her garage, but after her son's murder three months later, a subsequent police investigation revealed that her death was a

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

. On the morning of July 12, 2009, her son, who was 53, was found

bludgeoned A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...

and suffocated to death in the

penthouse suite A penthouse is an apartment or unit on the highest floor of an apartment building, condominium, hotel or tower. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features. The term 'penthouse' originally referred, and s ...

at the

Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

in Rye Brook, New York. He was bound with

duct tape Duct tape (also called duck tape, from the cotton duck cloth it was originally made of) is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesi ...

and his eyes were gouged out. At the time of his death, he was having an affair with

porn actress A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of di ...

Rebecca E. Bliss (1976-2023). He was also the heir to a multimillion-dollar estate.

Trial

Narcy Novack, from

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...

, was arrested for the murders of her husband and mother-in-law in July 2010, three days shy of a year after her husband's death. Her brother, Cristóbal Véliz, was also accused of enlisting Alejandro Gutiérrez-García, Joel González, and Denis Ramírez to participate in both murders. Narcy Novack and Cristóbal Véliz were tried together in a federal courtroom in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

in 2012. The duo's defense was to blame Narcy's only daughter from a previous marriage, May Abad, for having orchestrated the killings, stating that she was motivated to collect on Ben Novack Jr.'s estate, including a large collection of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

memorabilia. Prosecutors alleged that Narcy was afraid that her husband would leave her for his mistress, and that a

prenuptial agreement A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the leg ...

would only leave her $65,000 instead of the bulk of her late husband's estate. They claimed she was motivated by "hatred, greed, and vengeance."

Verdict

At the conclusion of the trial, Narcy and Veliz were each convicted of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

conspiracy to commit murder Conspiracy to murder is a statutory offence defined by the intent to commit murder. England and Wales The offence of conspiracy to murder was created in statutory law by section 4 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and retained as ...

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

, and

witness tampering Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficul ...

. Narcy waived her right to appear in court when the guilty verdict was read. She also did not appear in court when she was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Novack is currently

incarcerated A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...

at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

. Véliz was also sentenced to life in prison without parole and he is currently incarcerated at the

United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy The United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy (USP Big Sandy) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated Martin County, Kentucky, near the city of Inez. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a divi ...

Inez, Kentucky Inez ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Martin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 546 at the 2020 census. Geography Inez is located at (37.866431, -82.539058). According to the United States Census Burea ...

. Gutiérrez-García, González, and Ramírez all

pleaded guilty In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...

to lesser charges. In accordance with the

slayer rule The slayer rule, in the U. S. law of inheritance, stops a person inheriting property from a person they murdered (so that, for example, a murderer cannot inherit from parents or a spouse they killed). While a criminal conviction requires proof ...

, Narcy Novack is ineligible to inherit her husband's estate. Ben Novack Jr.'s estate, valued at $4.2 million, is expected to go to Novack's daughter, May Abad, and Abad's two sons.

In the media

The Novack murders have been televised on several programs including ''Deadly Rich'', ''My Dirty Little Secret (ID)'', '' 48 Hours'', ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasio ...

'', ''

Snapped ''Snapped'' is an American true crime television series produced by Jupiter Entertainment. The series depicts high profile or bizarre cases of women accused of murder. Each episode outlines the motivation for murder, whether it be revenge ag ...

'', ''True Crime with

Aphrodite Jones Aphrodite Jones (born November 27, 1958) is an American author, reporter, and television producer. Jones is an executive producer and the host of the television series '' True Crime with Aphrodite Jones''. Previously, Jones hosted a show called ...

'' and ''Dying to Belong''. The story was also the basis for the 2015 made-for-television Lifetime movie ''

Beautiful & Twisted ''Beautiful & Twisted'', also known as ''The Novack Murders'' is a 2015 American made-for-television crime drama film that premiered on Lifetime on January 31, 2015. The film stars Rob Lowe, Paz Vega, Seychelle Gabriel, Michelle Hurd, and Candice ...

'', directed by Christopher Zalla and starring

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

as Ben Novack Jr.,

Paz Vega María de la Paz Campos Trigos (born 2 January 1976), known professionally as Paz Vega (), is a Spanish actress. She became popular for her performance in comedy television series '' 7 vidas''. Her film credits include ''Sex and Lucia'' (2001) ...

as Narcy, and

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...

as Bernice Novack.

References

External links

FBI Press Release: Sentencing of Narcisa Veliz Novack and Cristobal Veliz (December 17, 2012)U.S. Department of Justice Press Release: Alejandro Garcia Sentenced In White Plains Federal Court To 17 Years And Six Months In Prison For The Beating Deaths Of Ben And Bernice Novack (September 12, 2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novack, Bernice murder 2009 in Florida 2009 in New York (state) 2009 murders in the United States 2012 in New York (state) April 2009 crimes in the United States Deaths by beating in the United States Deaths from asphyxiation Domestic violence in the United States History of Fort Lauderdale, Florida July 2009 crimes in the United States Mariticides Murder-for-hire cases People murdered in Florida People murdered in New York (state) Rye, New York Stalking