Doctor arrested for conspiring to kill estranged wife again, after serving 4 years in jail the first time

A former podiatrist based in the United States has been rearrested for an alleged murder plot against his estranged wife, four years after serving a sentence for a similar offence.

49-year-old Ira Bernstein from New York is said to have recruited his sister to destroy the evidence soon after carrying out a plan to kill his ex-wife Susan Bernstein between July 29 and September 21, 2022.

Ira’s sister Jaclyn Goldberg, an employment attorney, was charged with one count of tampering with physical evidence, one count of third-degree hindering the prosecution, and one count of fifth-degree conspiracy.

The suspects both pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the New York Post.

“This is a new indictment and has no connection to the previous case,” Chief of Detectives at Ramapo Police Department Peter Walker told the publication.

“As you can see in the release, allegedly there was solicitation by Ira Bernstein to have his wife murdered. His sister, Jaclyn Goldberg allegedly conspired to destroy evidence of that solicitation.”

This was barely a year after the foot doctor had been released from prison in 2021 after he was imprisoned for conspiring with his then-girlfriend Kelly Gribeluk, to hire a car salesman to murder his wife by running her over.

He is reportedly said to have offered the salesman, Marckensy Louissaint, $100,000 (about Ksh.14 million) to run over his wife and make it look like an accident in 2015.

The plan failed after the salesman reported to the police.

The pair was arraigned and convicted of a felony and slapped with between five to 15 years in prison. Ira pleaded guilty and was jailed in 2017.

His then wife, Susan, at the time referred to him as “evil,” and a year later called for harsher penalties, arguing that their three children were afraid that their father would be released someday.

“For them to be scared that he’ll be out on the streets with his accomplice Kelly Gribeluk is extremely frightening for them,” Susan said in 2018, according to the New York Post.

“It is a daily struggle for me and my three young children. There are constant obstacles in the way. We’ve seen no remorse and it’s just an uphill battle.”

Bernstein and Gribeluk were paroled within months of each other in 2021.