A petition over a life insurance payout in the case of a Moore Township man who died of a gunshot wound five years ago will go before a judge, according to testimony Friday in Northampton County Court.

Pacific Life Insurance filed the petition over paying the policy to Patrice V. Steckel, saying in court records that she is suspected by police of killing her 46-year-old husband, Michael G. Steckel.

Pacific Life said the case's lead detective has told the company that Patrice Steckel is the "sole suspect" in the 2011 death, the petition states. Pacific Life is seeking court permission before it begins paying Steckel's wife an annuity he bought in 2006, with the insurer saying it is concerned it could run afoul of the state's Slayers Act, which aims to prevent killers from benefiting financially from their misdeeds.

Patrice Steckel has never been charged or publicly named as the suspect, but Pacific Life states in the court records she is the "sole suspect" in the death. In a telephone interview Thursday, Patrice Steckel denied killing her husband of nearly 16 years, and said he committed suicide while suffering from depression.

Authorities said Michael Steckel's killing remains under investigation.

Pacific Life also seeks a guardian be appointed to represent the couple's three children in the matter, saying their interests may run counter to Patrice Steckel's. The court filing does not disclose the annuity's value.

At a hearing Friday before President Judge Stephen Baratta, only Pacific Life's attorney, Ronald Shipman, appeared and he told the judge he hoped the petition would prompt an appearance of Steckel with counsel.

Baratta scheduled the petition for March 9, adding that "no one" will receive the life insurance payout until the guardianship matter is resolved.

Patrice Steckel told police that she discovered her husband's body March 8, 2011, on the couch of their Nazareth Drive house where he had been sleeping, according to a 2012 search warrant that first publicly disclosed that the death was considered suspicious.

But investigators later learned the gunshot that killed Michael Steckel was "not a contact wound," as most firearm suicides are, and his parents told police that their son had recently learned Patrice Steckel had been forging his signature to withdraw money from his bank account, the sworn police affidavit said.

Michael Steckel died without a will, and his wife was granted control of his estate through what is known as letters of administration.

According to the court documents, Patrice Steckel first submitted a life insurance claim in April 2011, when she indicated that her husband's death was a suicide. But his death certificate said differently, labeling the cause as "pending investigation."

A supplemental claim in 2013 by the widow included an amended death certificate that listed the cause as "homicide," the petition said.

by Pamela Lehman | Feb 12, 2016

 

Author: Pamela Lehman

Source: Tribune Publishing

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