Nov 21, 2006 4:41 pm US/Eastern
Husband In Mystery SUV Shooting Out Of Hospital
Police Call Lawyer's Story In Wife's Murder "Unusual Sounding"
CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. (CBS News) ―
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The couple lives three doors away from the home of the former president and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. (File)
Police say a disbarred lawyer's story of a mysterious ambush that killed his wife and left him wounded is "unusual-sounding," and they have not ruled out the possibility that he had something to do with the shootings.
But there have been no arrests and police said Tuesday that Carlos Perez-Olivo, 58, was permitted to leave Northern Westchester Hospital late Monday. He apparently returned to his home on a Chappaqua cul-de-sac shared by former President Bill Clinton.
Visitors arrived steadily, and a knock on the door was answered by a man who identified himself as Drew Stern, a friend of the family. He said a statement would be issued -- he would not say when -- and he asked reporters to leave the property.
Perez-Olivo's schoolteacher wife, Peggy Perez-Olivo, 55, died Monday afternoon, the victim of a gunshot to the head. Her husband told police that the shot was fired by a man who cut off their car on a dark road Saturday night, then climbed in and shot both of them as they returned from an evening in Manhattan.
The road would not normally be part of the route home, but Perez-Olivo said they had detoured to find a gas station. He said he was able to drive to the hospital despite his abdomen wound.
He told police he did not recognize the gunman, but he described him in detail and the police issued a sketch and asked the public for help. Asked if they considered treating Perez-Olivo as a suspect, New Castle Detective Sgt. Marc Simmons said, "We're treating him like a shooting victim."
But he added quickly, "Nobody's being ruled in or out." And he acknowledged that Perez-Olivo's account makes for "an unusual incident, an unusual-sounding incident."
Police refused to answer questions Tuesday about what type of gun was used, whether the gun or any shell casings had been found, and whether surveillance video from a gas station near the shooting scene had been useful.
They also would not comment about any motive for the shooting, although Simmons said detectives would look into some of Perez-Olivo's former clients.
He was disbarred three months ago for refusing to return unearned funds to clients and jurors have accused him of incompetence in defending a murder suspect.
The killing of a neighbor had no apparent effect on security at the Clinton home three doors away. Philippe Reines, press secretary to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said, "The Clintons are saddened to hear of the death of their neighbor Mrs. Perez-Olivo." .
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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