MASSENA — A petition filed with St. Lawrence County Family Court indicates James A. Farbotnik is considered a suspect in the death of his wife, Vinira Z.
Mr. Farbotnik, 56, of 355 Route 37C, said he was served with a child neglect petition at 3:26 p.m. Tuesday by the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department Civil Division. A Family Court hearing on Wednesday cleared him of the child neglect allegation, allowing him to regain custody of his five children.
But even though the child neglect allegation was dropped, the information included in the court petition shows Mr. Farbotnik still is considered a suspect in his wife's mysterious death early Monday. The investigation into the death continues.
The petition alleges the physical, mental or emotional condition of Mr. Farbotnik's five children has been impaired or is in danger of being impaired as a result of Mr. Farbotnik allegedly committing an act of a serious nature, stating he is a suspect in his wife's death.
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The document says the information included in the petition is based on a suspected child abuse report, interviews with the children and conversations with state police.
According to the petition, "... the mother of the children, Vinira Z. Farbotnik, was found dead under suspicious circumstances on the property where the family home is located."
Mr. Farbotnik said he took two of his children to look for his wife shortly after 1 a.m. Monday when she hadn't returned to the house after working outside late that evening.
He discovered her submerged in three feet of water in the family pond with a canoe on top of her.
"(Mr. Farbotnik) directed the search toward a pond on the property, where the body was found, despite the fact that the children's mother did not like the pond and would never go near it," the petition states.
Mr. Farbotnik said that the last time he saw his wife alive was about 11 p.m. but that it was not odd not to have gone searching for her right away.
"She's 43 years old. It wasn't a big deal that I hadn't seen her for an hour. I don't feel I'm wrong in not notifying the police immediately. I just thought she was out doing some chores, checking on the baby animals," he said.
Mr. Farbotnik balked at the claim that he was a suspect in his wife's death.
"The petition is without merit," he said. "If you're a suspect, they won't release your children back to you."
He said the neglect charge was dropped, in part, because of his wife's autopsy report. On Tuesday, St. Lawrence County Coroner James M. Sienkiewycz confirmed there were no signs of physical trauma to Mrs. Farbotnik, but said the final results of the autopsy were pending because of the investigation.
About 5 p.m. Wednesday, the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation ended its search at Mr. Farbotnik's property and released it, allowing Mr. Farbotnik and his children to move back in. The search at Mr. Farbotnik's Main Street store, CyberWorld USA, is continuing.
The police left his home and property in good shape, but took numerous items, including 10 laptops, seven computer towers and 23 hard drives, he said.
Several of those computers belonged to his children, he said.
Mr. Farbotnik said he was pleased Family Court allowed him to regain custody of his children. He is happy to have his house, property and children back.
"We thank the court system for being fair and honest," he said. "I'm going to have to learn to be mommy and daddy now."
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