A Year Later, Pleasantville Murder Remains Unsolved

A poster is affixed to the door of the Pleasantville police station asking the public for information about the murder of village resident Linda Falkoff and offering a $2,500 reward.

A year after Falkoff was found dead in her Pleasantville home, memory of the crime, much like the poster, is slowly fading.

Falkoff, 76, a widow and a retired IBM employee, was found dead inside her residence on Oct. 30 after a U.S. Postal Service employee became suspicious when seeing mail pile up for several days.

Police checked on her at the home located at 79 Grandview Ave. and discovered Falkoff’s body inside. Reports issued by police after she was found stated that Falkoff was stabbed to death but there have been virtually no comments since regarding where in the home she was located or if a murder weapon was recovered.

The Westchester County Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the investigation with the village police, have not made any public statements about the progress of the investigation since Nov. 1, 2014.

Falkoff is believed to have died about five days before her body was discovered.

Mayor Peter Scherer said this week police were following leads in the still-open case but that there was no new information to report.

“It’s our goal to bring someone to justice,” he said.

Pleasantville Police Chief Richard Love also said he had no new information he could share on the case.

Westchester Department of Public Safety spokesman Kieran O’Leary said after speaking with department detectives regarding the investigation, a decision was made not to release additional information.

“They don’t think it would be helpful to the case to release any specifics,” O’Leary said.

Falkoff’s house with light blue siding and a white garage door still sits vacant. Police tape can still be seen hanging on the door, and an aging dull gold-colored Thunderbird sedan remains in the driveway. The home was purchased by Falkoff and her late husband Adin in September 1998, according to village records.

Several of Falkoff’s neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said they had not heard any new information on the status of the investigation.

According to the county assessor and land records offices, the Grandview Avenue property is still listed as belonging to Falkoff. She is listed on the deed as Linda Misek-Falkoff as of the most recent assessment records issued in September.

Village records show the couple also had owned a second nearby property at 163 Great Oak Lane but sold it in August 1999 to its current owner.

Building Inspector Robert Hughes said there had been complaints from neighbors about the appearance of the Grandview Avenue property and the village was looking to better maintain it. He said the house may be in the process of being transferred to the bank.

Falkoff had been unable to make mortgage payments on the home and was reported to have been in debt at the time she was killed. Under new state laws, municipalities can hold banks accountable for failing to maintain properties they own, Hughes said.

Despite the fact that a murder took place in the home, he said there is interest from potential buyers.

“We’ve had several people come in asking about it,” Hughes said.

Falkoff’s death is the second murder in Pleasantville in the last 20 years. Pleasantville volunteer firefighter Thomas Dorr was found dead in Graham Hills Park on Jan. 7, 1996. Dorr was beaten and stabbed while walking from his home to the Washington Avenue firehouse during a blizzard, according to police. Like the Falkoff case, Dorr’s murder remains unsolved.

Anyone with information on either murder is asked to contact 1-866-313-8477 or 1-866-313-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.