The father of a NYC woman, whose body was discovered at the bottom of a trash chute, has filed court papers alleging that her husband murdered her.
Nicholas Prychodko, a Canadian citizen, is suing his son-in-law, David Schlachet, for the second time, accusing him of causing the death of his daughter, Lara, on July 10, 2018.
Initially, investigators believed Lara Prychodko, 48, had fallen 27 floors to her death at the upscale Zeckendorf Towers in Manhattan while intoxicated due to her health issues and a contentious separation from her husband. Police ruled her death as accidental. However, Prychodko disagreed with the official findings and hired renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to examine his daughter’s remains.
Dr. Baden’s investigation suggested that homicidal ligature strangulation was Lara’s cause of death, and she was placed in the garbage chute after she died.
In a bombshell lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court in February 2021, Prychodko accused Schlachet of hiring a hitman to kill his wife. Lance Meyerowich, a family financial advisor, joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff. The two also alleged that Schlachet had installed tracking software on Lara’s laptop to monitor her movements.
Nicholas Prychodko claimed that Schlachet stood to lose a significant portion of his $6 million in assets, including two homes in Southampton, a Chelsea apartment, a Williamsburg penthouse, and a loft in Toronto, in the divorce proceedings. Attorneys for Schlachet objected to the lawsuit, arguing that neither Nicholas nor Lance Meyerowich had the legal authority or “standing” to sue. A judge dismissed the case in July 2021.
However, on April 6, 2023, a judge granted Prychodko and Meyerowich limited authority to act on behalf of Lara’s estate and serve as guardians for her now 17-year-old son’s property.
On Tuesday, April 25, the pair filed another lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court against Schlachet, reiterating their claims that Schlachet had financial motivations to kill his wife. While Schlachet had filed his wrongful death claim against the owners and operators of Zeckendorf Towers, the latest lawsuit argues that it fails to address the unlikely circumstances of Lara accidentally opening the garbage chute and pushing herself through its small opening.
