A tragic event took place in Schenectady, New York on August 15, 2024. The horrifying incident involved the murder of David J. Miklowitz, 75, and Kathryn Miklowitz, 73, allegedly by their son, Jordan R. Miklowitz, 35, who subsequently committed suicide by jumping off the Patroon Island Bridge in Albany.
Witnesses alerted law enforcement after they spotted Jordan on the bridge over I-787 around 4 p.m., apparently preparing to jump. Despite intervention by police officers, Jordan jumped from the bridge, landing on the highway beneath. He was declared dead at the scene, causing traffic on the busy interstate to be halted for several hours as investigators gathered evidence.
After Jordan’s death, a welfare check at the Miklowitz residence on Morris Avenue in Schenectady led to a horrifying discovery. Both David and Kathryn were found dead, having suffered fatal blunt-force trauma. Autopsies confirmed homicide as the cause of their deaths. The precise sequence of events is still being investigated.
Earlier that day, around 2 p.m., a neighbor reported hearing a heated argument from the Miklowitz home and phoned 911. When law enforcement arrived, the street was quiet. However, a doorbell camera from a house across the street had captured part of the dispute. As reported by the Times Union, the brief footage showed muffled yelling, with a man shouting expletives. The video quality was too poor to identify the people involved. Hollie Miller, the homeowner who recorded the video, handed over the footage to aid the investigation.
David and Kathryn Miklowitz were well-regarded among their neighbors, who described them as quiet and kind. They had lived on Morris Avenue for a long time before relocating a few houses down the street the previous summer. Kathryn had fallen for a house in the vicinity, leading to the move, although the family was hesitant to leave Kathryn’s beautiful garden. The new inhabitants of their old house confessed they were struggling to maintain the garden to Kathryn’s high standards.
Based on Jordan’s statements prior to his death and evidence found at the crime scene, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney confirmed on Friday that Jordan Miklowitz was likely the perpetrator behind his parents’ murder before he killed himself. Carney emphasized that no evidence has been found implicating anyone else in the murders.