• A week later, search still under way for 73-year-old accused of killing his daughter-in-law

    A massive manhunt is underway in upstate New York for Eugene Palmer, who is suspected of killing his daughter-in-law outside her home last Monday and fleeing to nearby Harriman State Park. NBC's Mara Schiavocampo reports.

    By NBC News staff

    A massive manhunt for a 73-year-old wanted for the murder of his daughter-in-law continued in upstate New York, where police are still searching for Eugene Palmer in the thick woods of a 46,000-acre state park. 


    Search teams including officers, dogs and a helicopter have been looking for Palmer around the clock for the past week, after his truck was found in the Harriman State Park area. Bloodhounds traced his trial to a campsite, before the trail went cold.

    "The woods are too thick for a general sweep," Haverstraw Police Chief Charles Miller said last week. "There are so many places to hide ... [Or] he could have made it to a road and gotten picked up by somebody, and he could be staying elsewhere."

    Authorities hunting for 73-year-old accused of killing his daughter-in-law

    Eugene Palmer, of Haverstraw, is accused of killing his estranged daughter-in-law, Tammy Palmer, 39, who lived in a trailer 50 feet from his house, The New York Times reported. His sister, Elaine Babcock, said he stopped by her nearby home Monday morning, gave her money for his property taxes, and then told her that he had killed Palmer before asking her to wait an hour before calling police.

    But Babcock immediately called 911, The Journal News in New York's Hudson Valley reported. Officers said a separate 911 caller heard three gunshots coming from the home; they found Tammy Palmer, who has two teenage sons with Eugene's son, dead on the ground behind her trailer, NBCNewYork.com reported.

    "She doesn't deserve to be dead," Tammy's mother, Violet Pannirello, told NBC News.

    Flyers are posted all over the park to inform visitors about Palmer, whom police say is armed and dangerous.

    "I'm concerned, but I'm not overly terrified, but I still don't want to be outside alone, or anything," area resident Allison Potanovic told NBC News.

    Tammy Palmer and John Palmer had been married for about 17 years, John Pannirello, Tammy's father, told The New York Times, but they separated five months ago, and in the past few weeks, they had been in a custody battle over the kids.

    Eugene Palmer, a former truck driver, is an avid hunter who loves the outdoors. His family says he knows every inch of the woods in the area, but Palmer also has diabetes and has recently suffered a heart attack.This week, officials started sending out cadaver dogs.

    "It's a very difficult place to survive. He's been out there seven days, if he is still here, he'd have to be very adaptable to these types of conditions in order to survive that long," New York State Park Police Maj. David Herrick told NBC News.

    NBC's Elizabeth Chuck contributed to this report.

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  • Authorities hunting for 73-year-old accused of killing his daughter-in-law

    The Journal News

    Eugene Palmer, 73.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A manhunt for a 73-year-old diabetic wanted for murder entered its fourth day Thursday as authorities in Rockland County, N.Y., looked for proof that their suspect was even in the state park they were searching.

    "The woods are too thick for a general sweep," Haverstraw Police Chief Charles Miller said. "There are so many places to hide ... [Or] he could have made it to a road and gotten picked up by somebody, and he could be staying elsewhere."

    Eugene Palmer, of Haverstraw, is accused of killing his estranged daughter-in-law, Tammy Palmer, 39, who lived in a trailer 50 feet from his house, The New York Times reported. His sister, Elaine Babcock, said he stopped by her nearby home Monday morning, gave her money for his property taxes, and then told her that he had killed Palmer before asking her to wait an hour before calling police.

    But Babcock immediately called 911, The Journal News in New York's Hudson Valley reported. Officers said a separate 911 caller heard three gunshots coming from the home; they found Tammy Palmer, who has two teenage sons with Eugene's son, dead on the ground behind her trailer, NBCNewYork.com reported.

    Authorities have been combing the thick woods of the 46,000-acre Harriman State Park, which spans Rockland County and Orange County, in their search for Palmer. They believe Palmer is armed with at least one shotgun; at a news conference at the state park on Wednesday, Haverstraw Police Chief Miller said there is also "a lone rifle missing from his house. I don't know if he has that."

    So far, clues have been sparse in the manhunt for Palmer. On Tuesday, authorities found Palmer's abandoned pickup truck at Harriman State Park, The Journal News reported. And on Wednesday, police said dogs followed his scent to leftovers of a campfire close to the truck in an area of the park known as the Irish Potato Trail, but they lost his scent afterwards, Miller said in Wednesday's news conference.

    About 30 officers from Haverstraw were looking for Palmer on Wednesday, and authorities from nearby jurisdictions were also participating. The Department of Defense was sending infrared helicopters to track Palmer's body heat, Miller told reporters.

    His family does not know whether Palmer, who is a diabetic and who suffered a heart attack about a year ago, brought any medication with him.

    "I'm hopeful he is still alive," Miller said, adding police would like to "hear his side of the story."


    Part of what makes the search difficult is Palmer's familiarity with the area. According to New York Times, Palmer was known as a loner to his neighbors. He would frequently go into the woods to camp and hunt on his own.

    Palmer's dislike for his daughter-in-law was obvious to family members.

    "He's been trying to look out for the kids, and her being a mother, didn't want him butting in. But him being a grandfather, thought it was his place, so they started to aggravate and annoy each other," his sister, Babcock, said, according to NBCNewYork.com. She said the feuding also was related to marital problems between Tammy and Palmer's son.

    Tammy Palmer and John Palmer had been married for about 17 years, John Pannirello, Tammy's father, told The New York Times, but they separated five months ago, and in the past few weeks, they had been in a custody battle over the kids. 

    “He’s very coldhearted,” Pannirello told The Times of Eugene Palmer. “The detective says he won’t be surprised if something goes on between us and him, if he has guns with him. I just have a bad, bad feeling.” 

    Haverstraw police confirmed on Thursday they were still searching for Palmer, but said they would provide more details on Thursday's efforts later in the day.

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