Slain wife advocated for victims of violence
KINGSTON, N.Y. » The woman, who was found shot to death along with her husband in their Kerhonkson home on Friday in what police described as a murder-suicide, was a domestic and sexual violence victims advocate with the Worker Justice Center of New York.
Maritza E. Ovsak, 54, and her husband, Juan C. Ovsak, 70, were found dead when police were asked to check on the welfare of Juan Ovsak after the man’s employer notified authorities that he hadn’t shown up for work. Their bodies were found about 3:40 p.m. in their home at 40 Sages Loop Road.
Ulster County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Vincent Altieri said Friday evening the couple apparently was in an “upset marriage,” and the Sheriff’s Office added in a statement that its “preliminary investigation suggests no other people were involved in this incident.”
The captain said he knew of no previous domestic violence calls to the home. The Ovsak’s neighbor Dennis Debrosky, however, said on Saturday the police had been to the home about a half-dozen times in the last 10 years.
A statement by the Worker Justice Center on Saturday said Maritza Ovsak joined the agency in April 2016 and has worked as a bilingual counselor supporting immigrant farm worker women in the Hudson Valley.
“She was truly a ray of light and hope for all those whose lives she touched,” the Justice Center officials wrote.