Walter Buczynski jumped from the Delaware Memorial Bridge on Friday after killing his wife, Marci. Buczynski was the Vice President of Fieldstone Mortgage, a Maryland lender with $5.5 billion in subprime loans. The company recently filed for bankruptcy.
Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Evesham Township police went to the couple’s home in the Marlton section of the township around noon after a male caller asked them to check on Marci Buczynski’s welfare. Her body was found in a bedroom.Authorities would not provide further details on her death, saying only that she was pronounced dead at the scene and that an autopsy would be performed sometime Saturday by the county medical examiner’s office.
About 20 minutes after her body was found, officers from the Delaware River and Bay Authority Police Department received reports that a man – later identified as Walter Buczynski – had parked his car on the bridge and jumped from the span.
Crews continued to search for his body Friday night.
Bernardi said a motive for the murder-suicide was not immediately clear. The couple’s children were being cared for by family members, Bernardi said.
Absolutely tragic. It’s like the thirties all over again.
Mortgage exec kills wife, self [AP]
(Photo: Bob Jagendorf)
More From Consumerist
-
One Complaint To CFPB Fixes Mortgage Snafu That 9 Months Of Dealing With The Bank Couldn’t
-
Whistleblower Involved In Outing Big Banks Says Keeping It Secret For 3 Years Wasn’t Easy
-
Bankrupt Hostess Wants To Reward Executives With $1.8 Million In Bonuses
-
Lawsuits Accuse Bank Of America Of Helping Developer Trick People Into Buying Worthless Land
-
Detroit Homeowners Sue Morgan Stanley Over Racially Biased Predatory Lending Practices
At least he didn’t kill his kids too, like so many of these family annihilators do. But the kids will never be the same. Horrible.
@dgcaste:
Subprime mortgages are only legitimate if the person can afford the mortgage in the first place. Otherwise, they’re loan-sharking – but instead of illegally high interest when the loan is due, they’ve just legally placed a huge burden on someone who doesn’t understand the terms.
The consumer bears fault, but the companies that offered the products aren’t blameless.
If you make a lawnmower with no blade guard, it isn’t your fault when a consumer sticks his or her hand in it – but maybe you should’ve put one on.
@krakbuste:
In the thirties, the banks couldn’t cover their deposits. That’s why we have the FDIC, and why banks are required to have enough money on-hand to cover their deposits.
I feel sorry for the wife only.
Sorry, but my life is worth more than any dollar amount… People who end their lives because of debt are just foolish. It’s just money. What an idiot. I feel sorry for his wife.
@RvLeshrac: Not every lender that sold a sub-prime loan is a loan shark. Sure, some of them got a butt-ton of commissions from selling to underqualified consumers, but a lot of other people did it on purpose.
Let me give you an example. I have a friend that left the US Navy and he landed a great job at a great firm. He was making a lot of money, but for a lender, that means nothing unless you’ve been at your job for a certain amount of time. Usually a year for a regular job and two for commission based jobs. He doesn’t have that much money to put down, because he just got out the Navy and that’s really not a great salary. What does he do? He gets a sub-prime for 100% financing on a small-time loan, lender is responsible for 1/2 of the closing costs and he’s responsible for the other half. A year later, he refinanced his loan with 10% down, and now he’s good to go. If it hadn’t been for that specific sub-prime product. I didn’t mention that he was planning on getting married soon afterwards and his girlfriend was employed.
You can shark anybody if you don’t disclose terms. Doesn’t matter if it’s a subprime, or negative amortization, or whatever it is. This specific product just made it easy for the common-joe lender.
@dgcaste: I made quite a bit of money selling these products. Guess what, most, if not all, of my customers are still in those loans, and are quite happy with them. I keep in touch with my borrowers and, as far as I know, none have been foreclosed on. (I send christmas and 4th of July cards).
SubPrime is being mislabeled. It can mean any number of products, including fixed rate loans. A lot of people used them to get into houses with poor credit and good incomes, then refinanced a year later because a mortgage can improve your credit drastically. Others took cash out to consolidate credit card debt that was 25% interest. The problem loans are the interest-only, option arm or intro rate products, a small part of the types of loans out there. Just cause someone is a lender doesnt make them a bad person. The companies that are going under werent out to screw customers (Ameriquest excepted). They were making risky loans to make money, hoping customers would be able to keep paying it, as most of there profit came from interest over the years.
@junkmail: taking a job offer that pays more than your current one is selfish, driving a nicer car than others is selfish, saving money instead of giving to the poor is selfish. People do what they think is best for them. Suicide is just another choice people make about their lives. People will almost always do what suits them best, its nature, otherwise you would give everyone one of your paychecks to the poor and live on the street, otherwise you are being selfish.
People don’t need to suffer just becasue others choose to do so. Just becasue there are people who are worse off doesn’t mean you are in a good position. This guy killing his wife was bad, and his lack of disregard for his children is worse, but him committing suicide in it self, isn’t all that horrible. It was a choice he made.
you sound bitter becasue you think you are in a bad position in life and want others to suffer just becasue you are suffering. that is selfish.
@Tracy Ham and Eggs: I hope you don’t think I was in disagreement with you. I was trying to explain something similar (yet less specific) than your examples. Lenders are looking like assholes because the customers are biting more off than they can chew. I’m sure some lenders deserve the negative attention, but the truth is that anyone that has to make a sale is looked upon like a predator. Sales professionals are integral to the economy. In fact, loan officers can be a great help to many, since they can broker a better product for a specific person than that person walking into a bank and being locked in those bank’s products.
@xtc46: I can’t agree with you more. Everyone has to attend to their own survival. If someone comes to help out, that’s great, but ultimately the self is responsible.
It’s funny that this subject is central to scientologists. I am not one, but I have read Dianetics, and they strongly support the statement that every decision that is made by a human being is either for their survival, survival of their offspring, survival of their loved ones, or survival of humanity. Derailed acts are seen as an abnormality of this what they like to call the “survival dynamic”.
I think l. ron hubbardites are nuts, but it’s one of the only things they said that makes a lot of sense to me.
@dgcaste:
Perhaps that’s because it was said several hundred years ago by Darwin.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority (owner of the Delaware Memorial Bridge) just increased its EZPass account fee from NOTHING to $1.50 per month. Can I throw some DRBA execs from the bridge?
WHY do these a*holes always kill their wives, too? Can somebody write a tutorial for these guys: when tempted to commit suicide because of failure in your personal or business life, remember the the following acronym: KYF Kill Yourself First.
@RvLeshrac: I’m not saying scientologits invented it, I’m saying it’s one of the only things they believe in that actually make sense. I mean, for one of those kooks to believe it, it must be real true.
@Rabbigrrl: The story is most likely a lot more complicated than a murder-suicide in a marriage. Ranging from the unreasonable mental illness to a bitch wife that called him an useless idiot and that she would divorce him to keep the $5 that he still had in his pocket.
@snoop-blog:
Not only that but he has children. It is selfish to hurt the ones you love to commit suicide. The children will now hurt for the rest of their life.
@dgcaste: Someday, look back on the fact that you said this about a woman with two children who was murdered this weekend, and feel some small fraction of the depthless shame you deserve.
I know Walter’s family and for those of you who pass judgement without knowing what the hell you are talking about…know this. He has 2 older children (a son and a daughter) who are loving and hard working members of society. He also has 3 young and beautiful grandchildren. Their father was obviously mentally ill and although it does not excuse what he did, please have respect for his 2 older children and also his 2 younger boys who will one day do reasearch about what happened to their parents and see all of these nasty comments you animals put on here about their mom and dad. These comments will add to the mental anguish this whole entire family (marci and walter’s) has gone through. Watch what you say before you post ignorant comments online.
No sympathy for this guy. He made voluntary investments in the subprime markets. He assumed the risks while cashing out his returns.
This is sorta like the suicide by cop,they just don’t seem to be able to take themselves out(probably a reason for that-survival instinct) so they must come up with a reason like “let me fool a cop into thinking I’m going to get him” or “I’ll do something so disgusting or repulsive like take my family out”-this one puzzles me though:the murder- suicide:on one hand the murderer has enough guts to take out someone else but not themselves? I don’t know wether this guy felt guilt because of his part in the sub-prime mess or simply couldn’t handle the unintended consequences.Perhaps his wife was down on him for his role.
Personally I think this is just anothe murder-suicide were the perpertrator simply needed atrocious motivations to take himself out.I would have more empathy for these types if they would just take themselves out.