NYPD Psychologist Pleads Not Guilty In Shooting Of Developer Husband
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A suspended NYPD psychologist from Yonkers accused of trying to kill her husband in a 2013 shooting pleaded not guilty during her arraignment on a formal indictment Thursday.
Emily Dearden, a senior psychologist with the department, faces charges of attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm in a shooting that wounded her developer husband, Kenneth Dearden.
If convicted, she faces up to 25 years in prison.
"Doctor Dearden has pleaded not guilty and is confident that she's going to prevail in this case," attorney Paul Bergman told CBS2's Lou Young.
Authorities Kenneth Dearden woke up at around 4 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2013 with a pain on the left side of his head.
Police and EMS were called and rushed him to the hospital, where they determined he'd been shot in the head.
Police were first told an intruder shot Kenneth Dearden while he slept, but detectives discovered the alarm had been disabled from inside the home and an antique Derringer belonging to Emily Dearden had been recently fired, Young reported.
Emily Dearden told police she was out cold from a blow to the head when the shooting occurred, according to prosecutors. She told detectives she woke up during the night and went downstairs where she was knocked out. She claimed the next thing she remembers is her bloody husband shaking her awake, according to a transcription of a statement she made to Yonkers detectives.
The Westchester County District Attorney's office claimed Emily Dearden went so far as to injure herself as part of her story.
Court papers indicated that Emily Dearden initially steered detectives toward her husband's business associates as possible suspects.
"My husband deals with difficult people in his business, real estate, and he has some heated discussions with those people," she said, according to court documents.
But detectives soon learned that Kenneth Dearden also had heated discussions with his wife. Both Deardens apparently had extramarital affairs and each knew about the other.
Detectives wondered about that out loud as a possible motive. Asked the night of the shooting if her boyfriend could be responsible for the attack, Emily Dearden said "I don't believe David had anything to do with this."
Leaving court still free on $150,000 bond, Emily Dearden was not talking Thursday. Her attorney was not saying much more.
"One of the most troubling aspects of the allegations in this indictment is that whatever may have precipitated the defendant's actions against her husband, they were carried out just feet from where their children were sleeping," said Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore.
Emily Dearden also signed orders of protection in court, requiring her to stay away from her husband and two daughters unless visitation is arranged for the children. Attorney Bergman said he could not clarify the order of protection "at this time."
She is due back in court July 30.
Kenneth Dearden spent eight days in the hospital after a .22-caliber slug was removed from his jaw following the shooting.
The developer eventually came to suspect this wife, and sued her last year on allegations of adultery and attempted murder.
Dearden's court filings called the shooting "a sadistic attack by an adulterous defendant" and claimed that Emily Dearden was "getting pressure from her lover to end the marriage."
He also claimed his wife was "caught washing the clothes she had worn the night of the shooting and asked if police had a warrant" when they returned to investigate further.
In court papers, Kenneth Dearden said he discovered his wife's boyfriend came to New York from Texas about the time of the shooting, pressuring her to end her marriage.
Kenneth Dearden is a major developer in Yonkers. Emily Dearden's job with the NYPD was to help screen incoming recruits. She was given strictly administrative duty several months ago and filed for divorce nine months after the shooting.
Emily Dearden is now living in Manhattan, while her husband and two daughters still live in Yonkers.
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