Kriti Mehrotra
When socialite Irene Zambelli Silverman went missing from her lavish townhouse on East 65th Street in New York City, New York, on July 5, 1998, it left the entire community utterly shaken. The 82-year-old was a force of nature despite her age, as profiled in Netflix’s ‘Homicide: New York: Mother Knows Best,’ so it was uncharacteristic of her to go off grid without a trace left behind. Her staff was the first to recognize she had disappeared within hours of when she was last seen, but it was already too late since her assailants had carried out their premeditated plan.
Irene Silverman Was Strangled to Death, But Her Remains Have Never Been Discovered
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 17, 1916, Irene Silverman reportedly grew up in an incredibly devoted, loving, and supportive family that encouraged her to unapologetically be herself. She was able to not only embrace her passion for the creative arts but also ultimately pursue a career in the same as a professional ballerina after undertaking extensive formal training. According to records, she even relocated to New York City to fulfill her dreams. Soon, she landed a spot at Radio City Music Hall within Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan.
Irene was performing one day when she caught the eye of successful real estate mogul Samuel “Sam” Silverman, which led to a rather whirlwind romance before they tied the knot in 1941. He had a daughter from a previous union, so they were careful to ensure their foundation would facilitate a blended family while also maintaining their social lifestyle full of renowned connections. Therefore, the couple settled into a beautiful townhouse as she evolved into a homemaker and socialite, but everything changed in 1980 when the multimillionaire entrepreneur passed away. His wife still had security because he left his fortune to her, but she also needed companionship, so she cultivated friendships with fellow creatives while inadvertently rising further up the socialite ladder.
Hence, it was no surprise when Irene threw a big Fourth of July party at her beautiful home in 1998, only for it to be so exciting and last so long that she was reportedly still a bit tired the next morning. In fact, she reportedly told her staff, following a brief outing shortly before noon on July 5, that she was going to her room to rest, but she wasn’t there when they checked on her 3 hours later. They subsequently searched the whole house to no avail, driving them to dial 911 because they believed the 82-year-old wouldn’t have gone anywhere without informing them or without an escort. What followed was an extensive investigation, but sadly, neither Irene nor her remains have ever been discovered. That’s despite her assailants’ apprehension, conviction, sentencing, and later confession. They have since admitted that they hit her in the back of the head with a stun gun, strangled her to death, and wrapped her in a plastic shower curtain before disposing of her remains in a garbage bin in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Irene Silverman’s Killers Were Arrested Within Hours of Her Disappearance
When investigations into Irene’s case began, her staff was incredibly helpful and asserted she was a really kind employer, but had recently been wary owing to her suspicions about a tenant. According to the records, she renovated part of her townhouse into small apartments after her husband’s death. She rented it out to friends, locals, and tourists alike after conducting background checks. However, the staff claimed she hadn’t done so for her most recent tenant, Manny Guerin, because he had come through her trusted butcher — he had paid in cash for a full month sometime in mid-June. Within days, though, the 82-year-old reportedly grew uncomfortable because she noticed him eavesdropping on her conversations, bringing in an older woman, and often ignoring areas she had made clear were private to her.
Irene’s staff then worked with officials to create a composite sketch of Manny, especially after a search of his rented apartment yielded a missing comforter and an open shower curtain case. The latter aspect was particularly strange, not only because his bathroom had a sliding glass shower door, but also because the case just had the clips inside — the plastic curtain itself was missing. Therefore, when information about the socialite’s disappearance started being circulated to the public, Manny’s sketch with the announcement that he was “wanted for questioning” was attached. The very next day, though, local detectives were contacted by the FBI as the mother-son duo they had picked up the previous night for interstate auto theft were also in possession of Irene’s belongings.
Sante and Kenneth Kimes were arrested in New Jersey while driving a vehicle stolen from Utah, following which their belongings from the car and the car itself were submitted into evidence. It was then that authorities noticed Irene’s documents in the duo’s bags and $10,000 in cash in the former’s pocketbook, the latter being the precise sum missing from the 82-year-old’s home. Loaded firearms, fake handcuffs, several wigs/disguises, notebooks detailing Irene’s schedule or filled with practice of her signature, and a microcassette of a failed scam call Sante had made months before to obtain the socialite’s social security number were also uncovered from the vehicle. When city detectives later traveled to question the duo, they confirmed Kenneth was the man renting from her under the alias Manny, and his mother was the woman he had been bringing around, claiming they worked together.
Related
Sante Kimes Passed Away in 2014, Whereas Kenneth Kimes is Serving Time in Prison
Although neither Sante nor Kenneth initially acknowledged knowing anything regarding Irene Silverman’s disappearance, the latter had briefly indicated that she could be found in New Jersey. Unfortunately, efforts to locate her or her remains led nowhere, and it was only in December 1998 that the still federally detained mother-son duo were officially indicted in connection with her murder. While they were awaiting trial, it came to light that they had hired a private investigator whom Sante had asked to pick up a duffel bag from The Plaza hotel, which officials ultimately recovered. Inside was the deed to the 82-year-old multimillion-dollar townhouse, which had been signed over to the Atlantis Group, a shell company owned by the duo, indicating their motive was purely personal financial gain.
The notary who had approved the transfer then identified Sante from a lineup, leading to the belief she had disguised herself as Irene after she and her son had removed the socialite from the picture for her estate. Therefore, in 2000, following a lengthy 4-month trial, Sante and Kenneth were found guilty not only of murder but also a total of 117 other charges, including burglary, conspiracy, eavesdropping, forgery, grand larceny, and illegal weapons possession, amongst many more. While the mother was consequently sentenced to 120 years in prison, her son was handed down 124 years, not long after which they were extradited to California to face another unrelated homicide charge.
In 2001, Sante and Kenneth arrived separately in Los Angeles, California, to stand trial in connection with the March 1998 homicide of their former business partner, 63-year-old David Kazdin. However, in the end, the latter pleaded guilty and agreed to confess to everything in exchange for the death penalty to be taken off the table for both himself and his mother, if she was convicted. He then testified against his mother during her trial, confessed to David’s murder, and also revealed that while she had hit Irene on the back of the head with a stun gun, he was the one to fatally strangle her and dispose of her remains. He claimed he killed her at his mother’s behest. They were both later sentenced to life in prison without parole, and today, at the age of 50, Kenneth remains incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in California. As for Sante, she passed away while serving her sentence at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women on May 19, 2014.
