Mt. Laurel Man Hangs Self in France

A New Jersey man who fled to France after allegedly killing his lover in the United States committed suicide by hanging himself with a bedsheet from a drainage pipe in his French jail cell, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Paul Eduardovich Goldman, 39, a naturalized U.S. citizen, killed himself Sunday afternoon in a prison in the suburbs of Grenoble, in the French Alps, even though he was under suicide watch, said attorney Arnaud Levy-Soussan.

Goldman's parents had committed suicide in Bucks County in January after allegedly helping their son flee. Goldman learned just last week of their deaths, his lawyer said.

"He hanged himself with a sheet in his cell," the lawyer told The Associated Press. "He already tried to commit suicide at the start of his incarceration in January. So he was classed among detainees under special surveillance."

"I don't understand because he was not meant to be left alone and to be under constant surveillance. But that wasn't the case. I think French authorities made a big mistake. That is clear," said Levy-Soussan.

Goldman was caught Jan. 20 in Grenoble, southern France, where his extradition hearing was taking place. He was expected to be extradited to Pennsylvania to face first-degree murder charges in the fatal stabbing of Faina "Fay" Zonis, 42, a Philadelphia mortgage processor found dead in her office on Dec. 29.

He also faced U.S. federal charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

"I thought he was a coward to flee, to use his parents and his wife to do that," Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons said Tuesday.

Goldman's suicide would not change the prosecution of his wife, but might be a mixed blessing for the victim's family, she said.

"I hope that this will put an end to what could have been a very long trial for the Zonis family," Gibbons said. "(But) I'm sure that they were waiting for some answers. He'll take those to the grave."

A postcard found at Goldman's Mount Laurel, New Jersey, town house ultimately led investigators to a residence in Grenoble, where he was caught.

Edward Goldman, 66, and his wife, Inessa Lemashova, 63, committed suicide in January by slitting their wrists. The couple left a note, found by police on Jan. 13, saying they were disgraced by their son's conduct and didn't want to live.

"When he was told, I contacted the prison director to say, 'Be careful. Mr. Goldman must be watched because he's not doing well and, on top of that, this type of news is not likely to make him feel better,"' his attorney said in a telephone interview.

"I was told that measures were taken, but clearly those measures were insufficient," he added. "I don't understand that he was left alone like that with a sheet and a pipe."

France's prison service said a spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Goldman's cellmate was out exercising, leaving Goldman alone in the cell for about a half-hour, Levy-Soussan said.

He added that Goldman denied murder, but feared he would be sentenced to prison back in the United States.

"Perhaps he didn't have the courage to fight," he said.

As is customary, French authorities opened an investigation into the death and Goldman's body was expected to be autopsied Tuesday or Wednesday, he said. He added that the body will be repatriated if there is a request from the United States, otherwise "it will remain in France."

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: NBC10/AP