A Florida ophthamologist has been charged with the murder of his wife following a contentious separation and divorce.
Richard Seith, 53, was charged with first-degree murder following the death of Spirit Airlines flight attendant Cynthia Sciarrone, 54, just outside her residence near Lake Worth Beach on July 15.
Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies were alerted by medics to the scene around 3:30 a.m. The medics discovered Sciarrone on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the head, near her car. She was in her flight attendant uniform, with her keys and cell phone in hand, while her suitcase was found approximately 10 feet away.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Sciarrone and Seith’s divorce had been finalized on May 5. Following the divorce, Seith owed her $250,000 along with a residence, required to be paid off within 60 days after the finalization, totaling $285,000. Additionally, Sciarrone had previously reported incidents of vandalism to her vehicle, suspecting her ex-husband’s involvement.
A witness provided police with doorbell camera video showing Sciarrone arriving in the parking lot shortly before midnight on the night of her death. The witness also reported seeing Seith’s distinctive orange Jeep Wrangler in the area several times in the days leading up to the murder.
Sciarrone’s vehicle dash camera captured the murder at 11:47 p.m. on July 14, but the gunman was just outside the camera view. A man wearing a baseball hat was seen in that video after the shooting, however.
The police report said that license plate cameras captured Seith’s distinctive orange Jeep in teh area “multiple times” before and after the murder, beginning at about 7:30 p.m. on July 14 and ending just after midnight on July 15.
According to the report, police also spoke to an ex-girlfriend of Seith’s, who had been granted a petition for protection against stalking against him. She told investigators that she had met Seith on Match.com but that their pairing didn’t work out, and he ultimately married Sciarrone. The ex-girlfriend and Sciarrone became good friends, however.
She further told investigators that the Seith-Sciarrone marriage was one of an “escalating pattern of emotional and psychologically abusive behavior” including “sexual coercion,” which included his demands for “swinging.” The manipulative and abusive behavior eventually led Sciarrone to seek a divorce. Her job as a flight attendant was “an effort to become financially independent.”
The witness also told investigators that Sciarrone had confided in her that Seith “proudly ‘confessed’ to his wife that he had stalked a former girlfriend using a fake Facebook profile and had called the woman’s new finace to call her a ‘gold digger.’” That woman contacted Sciarrone to say that Seith had recently begun contacting her again and that Sciarrone should “run run run” from Seith.
Seith also reportedly told Sciarrone that he had considered killing his first wife while they were divorcing but decided not to “because his son would become an orphan again (son is adopted).”
The police report includes information regard Seith’s alleged stalking of the witness and also cell phone tracking of his phohe, which showed him searching for flight tracking information for Spirit Airlines flights and. his multiple firearms.
Treasure Coast Eye Specialists, where Seith works, said in a Facebook post that the company was “walking through something very heavy this week” and asked for “prayers and grace as our team continues to focus on caring for our patients.”
“With our faith and abundant support from trusted professionals, we are taking every precaution necessary while continuing to operate with the same commitment to excellence and compassion that defines our practice,” the post said.”Thank you for your continued trust.”
According to the Palm Beach Post, Seith was denied bail.
