Peggy Nadell’s daughter fights killer's bid for reduced sentence
Andrea Benson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, is now seeking resentencing under New York's Domestic Violence Survivors Act.
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More than a decade after a beloved Rockland County volunteer and activist was murdered inside her Valley Cottage home, one of the women convicted in the brutal killing is now seeking a reduced sentence.
Peggy Nadell was a familiar face in Rockland County for decades as a former Xerox executive, political activist and beloved volunteer. But in January 2014, the 80-year-old was found stabbed to death inside her home in what prosecutors described as a murder-for-hire plot fueled by greed.
Andrea Benson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, is now trying to get out of prison early.
In her first interview since the development, Nadell's daughter, Susanne Nadell-Scaccio, told News 12's senior reporter Tara Rosenblum that she'll do everything she can to keep Benson behind bars.
"How dare this woman think that she deserves to be let out of prison? You deserve to be where you are," says Nadell-Scaccio.
Benson pleaded guilty to the murder after admitting she helped Peggy's daughter-in-law, Diana Nadell, carry out the killing.
"Andrea Benson said she tried to strangle my mother with a pocketbook strap," says Nadell-Scaccio.
Benson is now seeking resentencing under New York's Domestic Violence Survivors Act, which allows some abuse survivors to ask for reduced prison sentences.
"What does Andrea Benson’s domestic violence issue have to do with my mother’s murder? My mother didn’t know her," says Nadell-Scaccio.
Benson traveled from her home in Washington, D.C. to Rockland County to help carry out the deadly attack after reportedly being promised $10,000.
Nadell-Scaccio says she still wears her mother's wedding band every day - one of the few valuables left behind after the killers ransacked the home.
Now she says she will do whatever she can to ensure Benson stays behind bars at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, where she is currently serving 20 years to life.
“She was just torn from this world for greed, for money," she says.
The Rockland County District Attorney's Office said it couldn't comment on the case because it's still ongoing.
