MARLTON, N.J. (AP) — An executive of a collapsed subprime mortgage lender jumped to his death from a bridge Friday, shortly after his wife’s body was found inside their New Jersey home, authorities said.
The deaths of Walter Buczynski, 59, and his wife, Marci, 37 — the parents of two boys — were being investigated as a murder-suicide, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Evesham Township police went to the couple’s home in the Marlton section of the township around noon after a male caller asked them to check on Marci Buczynski. Her body was found in a bedroom.
Authorities would not provide further details on her death, saying only that she was pronounced dead at the scene and that the county medical examiner’s office would perform an autopsy Saturday.
About 20 minutes after her body was found, officers from the Delaware River and Bay Authority Police Department received reports that a man — later identified as Walter Buczynski — had parked his car on Delaware Memorial Bridge and jumped from the span.
Crews were searching for his body Friday night.
The article states that the motive wasn’t immediately clear, although the timing makes the business failure a possible contributing factor.
Here’s hoping that people will remember that however tragic financial problems may feel it’s still only money. You can make a comeback after foreclosure and bankruptcy, but not after suicide. There may not be easy solutions to the credit crisis, but there are better solutions than this.
Very sad commentary on our times. Desperate circumstances breed desperate actions. I’d like to say perhaps he deserved it but I’ve watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” too many times (once again this season). There was no Clarence to save this guy or his wife.
“Parents of two boys….”
Very tragic.. I wish I thought this would be the last, but we are in the first inning of a double header…
Ambac went to AA today and it only took a few hours for 450+ bonds to get a downgrade…
The next few months are going to get little crazy.
Not the way I wanted to start my Saturday morning. Truly a sad situation. I fear that this site (and many others) will see a somewhat depressing shift from a sort of fun, sarchastic, “we told ya so” attitude to that of a much more somber one. Reality has truly started to set in and I’m finding that it aint always so gratifying to be correct about something. We are going to see just how many will be affected by all of this over the next year, and if it hasn’t already done so, this crisis will start hitting much closer to home for many of us. God bless those two boys left behind.
Agreed. We can all be snarky and talk about how dumb others were and how smart we are…
But that just pales in comparison when you think about those two boys being without parents.
Sad, sad…
Listen people,its not about being right,its about correct and or true information,and how you use it.Though this is tragic,none of us are to blame.Please,dont feel guilty about something you had nothing to do with.We become victims way to quick in the USA.We all have options and choices to make,some choose poorly,be the one who chooses wisely,your families will appreciate it.
Our sys admin said earlier this week, “I don’t feel smug being right about what is happening to our economy. I wish we’d been wrong.”
Yeah it’s fun seeing the “experts” with egg all over their face after their Goldilocks prognostications, but I think the reality is that none of us is going to come out of this unchanged or unscathed. That’s why I thought it was important to post this one- we need to put this in perspective.
this is horrible. the worst part is the 2 boys. if they were grown, it would say 2 sons/adult sons.
Very sad story.
But it is too easy to blame the subprime problem for it.
Depression is a much larger problem than most of us know. Obviously, this man needed some professional help, and was capable of doing something irrational because of his depression, if pushed far enough.
It just so happens that the subprime problem/economy pushed him far enough. So then can these deaths be blamed on the subprime problem/ecomony? In reality, I don’t think so.
Although the subprime problem/economy appears to have been the “trigger” that put this man over the edge, what is apparent is that he had the (strong) capacity of being put over the edge in the first place. That is a problem that was all his own, and if the subprime problem had not come around may very well have been set off by some other “down” time later in life.
I don’t know the exacts of the situation..but I am sure that finances played a big role. So many of these mortgage people expected that the six figure income was going to last forever. Who knows..maybe the bill collectors were calling? The trophy wife was leaving? Maybe he couldn’t deal with the fact he had to get rid of the cars and house? But he is a coward..he took the easy road out..So now the kids have to deal with the fact that daddy is a murderer, he killed their mother, they are both dead and that is really easier than facing financial ruin??? Obviously his facing the neighbors in his mind was harder than facing his family.sad!
Very sad.
His business was in subprime mortgage lending.
He most likely made a boatload of money.
With that money came expectations and promises for the future, for example, college fund for the kids, month long vacations in the carribbean, country club membership. When that money dried up, it meant a very drastic lifestyle change.
Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to it
Very sad that he wasn’t able to save money for the downturn.
Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to it with the help of his coworkers.
Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to it with the help of his family or friends.
Very sad that he wasn’t able to face up to the fact that he might have to move into a modest small house or apartment and probably never hang out with his country club associates again.
Very sad that he thought the only way out was to kill himself and his wife, and to leave his two poor little children.
Very sad.
I can understand being depressed and killing yourself, but why did he have to kill his wife? I feel bad for the two boys and the rest of the relatives. May God protect them.
MikeC-
Agreed- something else might have set him off if not the finances, [or who knows, maybe it was an issue with the missus, and not the finances at all] Still, it’s difficult not to suspect that he considered his financial problems the end of the world.
The sad thing is, there are solutions. So many people have managed to turn problems into positives- they have gone through hard times and just decided to write the experience off under “expensive education.” What I’m hoping will be the best part of the economic downturn is that people will discover that they don’t need the Hummer, HDTV, McMansion, etc. to be happy- but sometimes we have to have that stuff taken away from us to realize it.
It’s too bad he didn’t give it some time. Sometimes the fear of having a bad thing happen is worse than the bad thing itself.
I concur with Surak- may God bless and keep those boys.
Perfectly summarized, twist! What a nice and decent person you are!!!!!
I concur with DCBeacon. I really admire how Twist conducts herself. She definately shows a lot of class.
Ah shucks guys, you’re embarassing me!