Death of Woman Found in Bath by Daughter Ruled A Murder, Police Want to Speak to Husband Updated April 12, 2010 9:12am

Shele Covlin (lower right) and the 155 W. 68th Street apartment building, where she was found dead in her bathtub. (DNAinfo/Nicole Breskin, Facebook)

By Mariel S. Clark

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — The New Year's Eve death of an Upper West Side financial planner, found slumped in the bathtub by her nine-year-old daughter, was originally deemed an accident.

Now, after exhuming her body, authorities say she was murdered, the New York Post reported.

Shele Covlin, 47, a senior vice president for investments and a private wealth advisor at UBS Wealth Management, was found dead at her home on West 68th Street at Broadway on Dec. 31.

Police want to speak Colvlin's estranged husband, Rod Covlin, 36, the chairman of the US Backgammon Federation, according to the Post. The two were fighting for custody of their two children during bitter divorce proceedings, the paper reported.

Shele Covlin (lower right) and the 155 W. 68th Street apartment building, where she was found dead in her bathtub. (DNAinfo/Nicole Breskin, Facebook)

Rod Covlin threatened Shele Covlin prompting her to take out an order of protection against him, Shele Covlin's divorce lawyer told the paper.

Rod Covlin has not been charged; the Manhattan District Attorney is investigating the crime, according to the Post.

Shele Covlin was buried quickly because she and her family are Orthodox Jews, but her family began to question if her death was really an accident and requested authorities perform an exhumation, according to the Post.

At the time of her death, police believed Covlin had slipped — the gash on the back of her head was "consistent with a fall"— but the autopsy showed she was strangled, the Post reported.

RELATED CONTENT

• Upper West Side Mother Found Dead in Bathtub by Daughter Shele Covlin was discovered dead New Year's Eve by her nine-year-old daughter. Police initially suspected she'd slipped in the bathtub.  [DNAinfo]