The FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force , along with the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office and Haverstraw Police Department, have announced that Eugene Palmer, 80, has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Palmer is wanted on a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in the alleged murder of his daughter-in-law in September 2012.
Investigators say Palmer allegedly shot and killed Tammy Palmer, 39, who was married to Eugene Palmer’s son and lived with their two children, outside her home near Willow Grove Road in Stony Point, New York.
According to the Haverstraw Police Department and the FBI, Eugene Palmer developed a strained relationship with Tammy Palmer as her marriage to Eugene’s son deteriorated.
“Before the incident,” Haverstraw Police Detective Michael Cruger said, “a judge issued an order of protection.”
On the morning of September 24, 2012, Tammy Palmer walked her children to catch the school bus, near where Eugene Palmer was believed to have been hiding in the woods, and as she walked back towards her home, Palmer allegedly shot at her from a distance, striking her arm, missing her with a second shot.
The third, fatal shot was delivered at close range to the victim’s chest.
(The FBI on Wednesday added Eugene Palmer, the suspect in a Rockland County cold case, to its 10 Most Wanted list. Courtesy of CBS News and YouTube. Posted on May 29, 2019.)
Palmer left the scene in a pick-up truck, which was later found near Harriman State Park in Rockland County, and investigators believe he fled the area after the murder, so they requested FBI assistance.
FBI New York Special Agent Andrew Fisher said that after the shooting, Eugene Palmer fled into the wooded 45,000-acre state park which borders the family property: “He drove his truck about 100 yards into Harriman State Park and walked in.”
Law enforcement located his vehicle, and with the help of search dogs, followed his scent to a campground in the woods. The dogs lost the scent at another roadway in the park.
Cruger said no body was found during multiple searches, and he believes Palmer is very much alive.
Fisher noted that although Palmer is a senior citizen, it does not make him less of a risk or less of a priority to law enforcement, stating “His age doesn’t change the level of violence in this crime.”
Cruger stressed that finding Palmer is very much a priority for the Haverstraw Police Department and for the Rockland County community. “I want to bring the family closure.”
“It hit me hard that we couldn’t capture him before Tammy’s mother passed,” he said. “It’s unfinished for us.”
“When detectives and prosecutors realized Palmer most likely left New York state after the murder, they asked for our help and we filed a federal warrant,” explained William F. Sweeney, assistant director in charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI.
“That warrant allows our agents all over the United States and the world to investigate, and opens up a vast number of resources to find Eugene Palmer and bring him to justice.”
“We can’t bring back Tammy Palmer, but we hope finding the man who is accused of murdering her will offer some solace to the grieving family.”
(FBI and law enforcement officials held a news conference announcing Eugene Palmer, suspected of killing his daughter-in-law in 2012, has been added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. Courtesy of the FBI and YouTube. Posted on May 29, 2019.)
“The Rockland County District Attorney’s Office is extremely grateful for our ongoing partnership with the FBI. With help from the public, I hope we can provide justice for Tammy and her children.”
“I would like to thank the FBI for placing Eugene Palmer on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list,” added Town of Haverstraw Police Chief Peter Murphy.
“This was a heinous crime that took the life of a mother of two children.”
“Our hope is that the additional federal resources and publicity will lead to his apprehension, thereby providing some closure and justice to Tammy’s family.”
Palmer is believed to be armed and dangerous. He is 5’10”, with brown eyes and gray hair.
His left thumb is deformed.
He is known to be an experienced hunter and avid outdoorsman, with an interest in cars and auto racing, and investigators believe Palmer has ties to upstate New York and Florida.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of Eugene Palmer.
Anyone with information concerning Palmer should take no action themselves, but should immediately contact the nearest FBI office or local law enforcement agency.
Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov. Individuals calling from outside of the United States should contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Eugene Palmer is the 523rd addition to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which was established in March 1950.
Since then, 488 fugitives have been apprehended or located, 162 of them as a result of citizen cooperation. Additional information about Palmer, including his wanted poster and the FBI’s list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, can be found at fbi.gov/wanted.
Learn More…
(Learn More. Courtesy of News12WC, Samantha Crawford and YouTube. Posted on Nov 28, 2018. Update: The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of Eugene Palmer.)
