More than a decade after a killing that shocked Rockland County, one of the women convicted in the murder-for-hire death of Peggy Nadel is now trying to get out of prison early, and the victim's daughter has vowed to fight the bid. The effort to win an earlier release has reopened the wounds of a case that prosecutors described as a brutal crime driven by greed. For Nadel's family, the prospect of one of the killers walking free has been deeply unsettling.
Peggy Nadel was, for decades, a familiar face in Rockland County. She was a former Xerox executive, a political activist and a beloved volunteer. In January 2014, the 80-year-old was found stabbed to death inside her Valley Cottage home, in what prosecutors described as a murder-for-hire plot fueled by greed. The killing of a woman so woven into community life left a lasting mark on those who knew her.
Among those convicted in the killing was Andrea Benson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. According to the account, Benson admitted that she had helped Peggy's daughter-in-law, Diana Nadel, carry out the killing. By her own admission, Benson tried to strangle the victim with a pocketbook strap, placing her at the center of the deadly attack inside the home.
Prosecutors said Benson had traveled a long way to take part in the crime. She came from her home in Washington, D.C., to Rockland to help carry out the deadly attack, after reportedly being promised 10,000 dollars. That detail, of a paid participant making the trip to join the killing, has been central to the family's sense of the case as a calculated act.
Now Benson is seeking resentencing under New York's Domestic Violence Survivors Act, a law that allows some survivors of abuse to ask for reduced prison sentences. The application has placed that law at the heart of the dispute, as Benson tries to use it to shorten the time she must serve for her role in the killing.
Peggy's only daughter, Susanne Nadel Zasio, has rejected the basis for that request. In her first interview since learning of the application, she questioned what Andrea Benson's domestic violence issue had to do with her mother's murder, pointing out that her mother did not even know her. She argued that Benson could have pulled into the driveway and refused to go inside, but did not, framing her as a willing participant rather than a victim.
For the daughter, the fight to keep Benson behind bars is also deeply personal. She said she wears her mother's wedding band every day, keeping it close to her heart as one of the few valuables left behind after the killers ransacked the home. Benson is currently serving 20 years to life at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, and the daughter has said she will do whatever she can to ensure Benson stays there. The Rockland County District Attorney's office said it could not comment on the case because it is still ongoing.