Officials: Suffern pair killed man prior to George Washington Bridge jump

SUFFERN – A couple from the village asphyxiated an elderly man before jumping to their deaths off the George Washington Bridge on Monday, officials said Tuesday.

The bodies of Gary W. Crockett, 41, and Nickie Circelli, 40, both of Suffern, were identified by relatives Tuesday, officials said. The pair left a note implicating themselves in the man's death — which has been ruled a homicide by the medical examiner — law enforcement sources said.

The man was Circelli's uncle and the couple had been living in his home for at least six months to a year, said neighbor Josefina Rodriguez, 42, who lived above the victim's apartment at 88 Washington Ave.

Between 1 and 1:30 a.m. Monday, Rodriguez said she heard a loud boom that was followed by the victim's car, a green Chevrolet Malibu, speeding away. The incident took only minutes, Rodriguez said, adding that when she woke to start her day hours later she knew something was off and that something had happened to her neighbor.

"I didn't hear no voices. That's why I thought he was probably sick," Rodriguez said. "He always cough in the morning and I hear him. And I didn't hear nothing and I thought something was wrong."

The victim she identified as "Bill" worked on a food delivery truck. A food delivery truck with the words "Thunderbird Catering" of Mahwah, N.J., was parked behind the building.

Rodriguez, who has lived in the building for three years, said she has heard several loud noises and what seemed to be arguments from the apartment below in the last month. She said she learned of her neighbor's death from a man identified as Circelli's brother, who told her that a partner in the victim's business had found a note on the front door when he arrived to take him to work that said the man had been taken to the hospital with an illness.

Rodriguez said she didn't know Crockett well but that he gave her a funny feeling.

"I never liked him," she said. "I saw him and I thought 'there is something wrong with this man.'"

After apparently leaving Suffern in the middle of the night, Crockett and Circelli headed to the bridge, where they jumped shortly after 11 a.m.

Workers on the lower level of the bridge saw something fall from the upper levels and when they looked over they spotted the couple in the water, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Joe Pentangelo said. The two were recovered by emergency responders and taken to St. Luke's Hospital, where they died, Pentangelo said.

After learning that a couple had jumped to their deaths from the bridge, Suffern police escorted family members to the Manhattan Medical Examiner's Office where they positively identified the two, Pentangelo said.

The couple carried no identification on them. Crockett had a key to a Chevrolet in his pocket but no vehicle was recovered on the bridge, Pentangelo said.

"It was the only thing in his pocket," Pentangelo said.

Suffern officials could not be reached for comment. A news conference is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday.