Cops: 'Nothing Appears Suspicious' About Boater's Death

Investigators believe a New York City woman whose body was pulled out of the ocean off Montauk on Sunday may have simply fallen in by accident.

John Petrocelli told investigators that he and his wife Ninive Petrocelli were sitting out on the bow of their boat, anchored two and a half miles from shore, when she went to retrieve a sweater before she disappeared into the calm, but dark waters.

When she seemed to be taking too long, he looked for her, but she wasn't anywhere to be found on 45-foot cabin cruiser. He threw whatever flotation devices he could find into the water and radioed the Coast Guard just after midnight on Sunday.

Fitzpatrick said Petrocelli didn't report hearing his wife fall overboard.

Winds were 10 knots and seas were 3 feet, police said.

Coast Guard crews arrived within 13 minutes, along with commercial and sport fishing vessels, Suffolk County Police Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick, the commanding officer of the homicide squad, said on Monday.

A search for the 40-year-old New York City executive began, ending 11 and a half hours later when a recreational boater discovered her body floating in the Atlantic Ocean, five miles from where she was last seen.

While homicide detectives, along with the East Hampton Town police, are investigating Ninive Petrocelli's death, Fitzpatrick said, "Nothing appears suspicious at this time."

Detectives interviewed her husband — the only other person on the boat — but Fitzpatrick said he was never in custody. "He has been cooperative. He's obviously upset," he said.

"We investigate a lot of things besides homicides," Fitzpatrick said.

The lieutenant declined to say what type of clothing she was wearing when she went into the water, but confirmed she was not wearing a life vest.

Her husband told police that she was "capable of treading water," but was not a strong swimmer.

The couple were on a boat, "In the Clutch," that police said was owned by John Petrocelli's construction firm, based in Palisades Park, N.J. They left the Montauk Yacht Club around sunset, and planned to spend the night anchored in Block Island Sound.

An autopsy will be conducted on Monday, but Fitzpatrick said it could be outside of a month before the case is closed. Toxicology results take one to three weeks, he said.

Asked if alcohol was a possible factor in her death, Fitzpatrick said, "It's one of things I do want to look at," he said.

The Petrocellis had what appears to be a good marriage. The couple was married four years ago at the Kabbalah Centre in New York City.

Karen Berg, the spiritual director of the Kabbalah Centre and an author, took to Facebook on Sunday to remember Petrocelli, calling her "soft and sweet with a kindness of an angel." She said it was close to her birthday.

"Her entire day and night was spent in service to humanity. She was a leading force in The Zohar Project, always taking care of people, and she was one of the kindest, most generous souls. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, including her husband John, as we meditate together for the elevation of her soul."