Details Emerge in Jefferson Valley Murder

JEFFERSON VALLEY, N.Y.—Police believe the Jefferson Valley mother shot to death on Saturday was not the original target of her killer, who came to the apartment complex in pursuit of the victim's daughter.

Police believe Geraldine "Geri" Krecmer, 63, was killed as part of a domestic dispute between Salvatore Ciniglio, 51, and Krecmer's daughter, his estranged domestic partner who was staying at the Jefferson Valley apartment at the time of the shooting.

“We don’t believe Geraldine Krecmer was the primary target of his intentions,” Yorktown Police Chief Robert Noble said on Monday. “We believe it was the victim’s daughter—Ciniglio’s estranged domestic partner—who was home at the time.”

Noble said Krecmer came home on Saturday night to find Ciniglio outside the apartment house and was surprised by him.

“We believe he was hiding there and ambushed her,” the chief said. “He assaulted Ms. Krecmer outside. We believe he saw his intimate partner inside the residence—he shot at least two rounds into the apartment at who we believe to be the intended target, then turned his weapon on her mother.”

According to her obituary, Krecmer is survived by her sons Thomas "TJ" Wilkinson, Dylan Wilkinson, Anthony Sales, daughter Jessica Sales, brother, Patrick Monaghan, and grandchildren Gianna, Angelina, and Valentina. 

Police believe Krecmer’s daughter was staying at the apartment, along with her own daughter, believed to be fathered by Ciniglio.

“Ciniglio and Ms. Krecmer’s daughter had a toddler [and the child] was in the apartment at the time of the shooting,” Noble said. “He shot at least two rounds into the apartment upon viewing his estranged domestic partner through a second-floor window, who again we believe to be the primary target of his violence, and then turned the weapon on her mother.”

“We were able to ID the vehicle through interviews at the scene; we were able to determine that Ciniglio was driving a gray Honda CRV,” Noble said. “We quickly shared the information with our local, county, state and federal law enforcement partners and within 90 minutes of sharing that information, Ciniglio was stopped by NYPD.” Westchester County Police Aviation and their special response team (SRT) also arrived to assist.

A vehicle matching Ciniglio’s description was spotted in the Bronx at around 10:15 p.m. NYPD was alerted and was able to narrow down Ciniglio’s location to a smaller area of the Bronx. At about 11:42 p.m., NYPD found the vehicle, but when they attempted to stop it, Ciniglio fled. NYPD pursued. When the CRV finally stopped, the driver—later identified as Ciniglio—shot himself as officers approached.

Ciniglio was taken into custody and transported by ambulance to Jacobi Hospital. He was treated but later died from his injuries.

“The speed in which he was found demonstrates the collaboration and partnerships that exist between all the law enforcement agencies in Westchester and beyond,” the chief continued. “Especially Westchester County police, who assisted us in staging resources and every step of the way with incident command and control system for the entirety of the investigation.”

Noble said the cooperation extended to local law enforcement, as well.

“There were also around 45 officers from surrounding local agencies helping out,” he said. “Not only our department, but our community needs to thank them as well. It was an excellent example of interagency cooperation.”

While Ciniglio was not known to local police, Noble said he had a criminal record with “eight total arrests, four of them felonies and two violent felony arrests.”

Noble said Yorktown PD recovered two handguns from Ciniglio’s car: One was the murder weapon; the second ended his life. Both were illegal.

“As a convicted felon, and because there was an order of protection between him and Ms. Krecmer’s daughter, he was not entitled to own a firearm,” Noble said.

Ciniglio was reportedly homeless, with his last known addresses in Queens and Ardsley, police said.

Fast response

In the first few hours after the shooting, Yorktown PD issued a shelter-in-place directive and said Ciniglio was armed and dangerous. Law enforcement’s fast response may have prevented him from taking more lives and likely played a role in his capture on the night of the crime.

Noble praised his officer’s professionalism at the scene and throughout the investigation.

“Again, I am very proud of the actions of the initial responding Yorktown police officers,” he said. “This crime deeply impacted all responding officers, and our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Krecmer and her family.”

The investigation remains open and the public is encouraged to share any information that they may have about this crime by contacting the Yorktown Police Department at 914-962-4141 or emailing info@yorktownpd.org.