Handyman Caught With Katz's Car and Jewelry

Village of Mamaroneck  police have charged Reginald Powell, 54, a handyman who did work on Jennifer Katz's house, with second-degree burglary—a C class felony—according to a press release sent Monday.

New York police arrested Powell, a White Plains resident, Dec. 30 for a traffic violation, at which time he was alleged to have been driving Katz's vehicle with her property in his possession. He has been arraigned and is currently being held at Westchester County Jail awaiting trial. No bail has been set. He is still considered a suspect in the homicide case.

Police are still not releasing further details of the murder of Jennifer Katz, who was found dead in her Baldwin Place home the evening of Dec. 30.

The Journal News has reported that Powell is a relative of Katz's ex-boyfriend, as well as a convicted murderer. He was paroled in October 2008, according to the article.

Katz, a divorced mother of two daughters—Stephanie, 16 and Naomi, 13—was active in the Mamaroneck Avenue School PTA and worked as a sales assistant at Larchmont Vision Care on Chatsworth Avenue since April 2007. She grew up in Hollis, Queens.

According to Gina Rossillo, the owner of Larchmont Vision Care, Katz was, "a wonderful person, vivacious, lively, who did a wonderful job raising two beautiful girls." Rossillo would sometimes walk her dog with Katz.

Store Manager, Tony, said that Katz's daughter, Stephanie worked at the store over the summer.

The following information was sent to parents of Hommocks Middle School students by principal Seth Weitzman:

The Larchmont and Mamaroneck community was shocked and saddened to learn about the tragic death of Jennifer Katz, parent of a Hommocks eighth grader and a Mamaroneck High School junior. I am writing to inform parents of steps our school has taken and to invite you to contact your child's counselor if you are concerned about your child's reaction. Hommocks' crisis management team has an established plan we implement in these circumstances.

• Since there is an eighth grade child involved, our counselors, school psychologists and social worker made the rounds of eighth grade classes this morning. They sensitively described emotional reactions children might experience and encouraged students to visit them in their offices if they want to talk. Our counseling staff normally spends much of the day out of their offices circulating around the building, but today they remained readily available in their offices. When I asked how eighth grade students responded to the classroom presentations, the most common adjectives were "subdued" (quite possibly a Monday-morning-after-vacation phenomenon) and "concerned."
• Anticipating the possible reaction of students with special circumstances, our counseling staff reached out to the girl's closest friends, to neighborhood children and to other students who have lost parents in recent months. They check in with those students. Friends are coached in order to help them cope with their feelings and to answer the question: What do I say to my friend? These outreach efforts included students at all grade levels.
• Teachers were apprised of the circumstances and asked to keep their ears to the ground and a close eye on students. If they sense an adverse reaction, teachers were instructed to escort the student to a counselor.

Children may experience a variety of reactions, sometimes readily apparent, but not necessarily so. We encourage parents to communicate with their children and to contact your child's guidance counselor if you have a question or a concern.