Steve Lieberman

slieberm@lohud.com

One of the four women charged in connection with Peggy Nadell's brutal killing has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, suggesting she may be cooperating in the prosecution.

Tanisha Joyner, 26, pleaded guilty May 30 to first-degree hindering prosecution before Rockland County Judge Charles Apotheker, according to an electronic filing with the New York state Unified Court System. Her plea was entered quietly, four days after Clarkstown police brought her to New York to face charges in the case.

The nonviolent felony hindering charge carries a maximum penalty of 2 1/3 to 7 years. Joyner had been charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit murder.

The Washington, D.C., resident has been accused of providing an alibi for Peggy Nadell's daughter-in-law, Diana Nadell, 50, of Florida. Police say Diana Nadell and Andrea Benson beat and stabbed 80-year-old Peggy Nadell to death Jan. 25 inside her Andover Road house in Valley Cottage.

Joyner supposedly claimed Diana Nadell was with her in Washington at the time and made calls using Diana Nadell's cellphone to suport the ruse, Clarkstown police said in criminal complaints.

Diana Nadell is accused of orchestrating the murder to free up her husband's share of a more than $4 million inheritance from Peggy Nadell's estate. Her husband, James, a Florida neuropsychologist, has not been charged and authorities do not suspect he knew about the plot. The couple has two young children; Diana Nadell also has two adult sons from a previous marriage.

The electronic filing sets Joyner's sentencing for Sept. 17 on her plea to what's called a superior court information. She has been released without bail from the Rockland County jail. She originally had been held on $500,000 bail.

The paperwork related to her plea is not available for public review.

Prosecutor Richard Kennison Moran is presenting evidence to a grand jury now.

"We are not commenting on any of the cases until the grand jury concludes the investigation," Moran said.

Joyner's attorney, Chief Rockland Public Defender James Licata, said he had no comment because the record of her plea is sealed for the time being.

Peggy Nadell's daughter, Susanne Nadell-Scaccio of Airmont, found her mother's body hours after the killing. She told police she had gone to her mother's house out of concern after her mother failed to answer her phone.

Nadell-Scaccio's lawyer, John Edwards, said Joyner's plea suggests she's cooperating with the prosecution. Edwards is a former prosecutor.

"I am not surprised a person not charged with the murder would be offered some type of inducement for his or her cooperation," Edwards said.

Eltia Grant, 24, of California, is also accused of helping to plan the killing and remains charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit murder. Police said Grant was drawn into the plot through a relative in Jamaica, and brought in both Benson and Joyner, exchanging hundreds of calls and text messages with the three women.

Diana Nadell was the last defendant brought back to Rockland and stood for arraignment on Wednesday, hearing for the first time the Clarkstown police criminal complaint outlining her role in the conspiracy and her mother-in-law's killing.

More than 30 friends and relatives of Peggy Nadell listened, wearing buttons with her photo and the words, "Justice for Peggy."

Nadell and Benson are being held without bail in the county jail. Grant has been transferred to another jail but is being held on $500,000 bail.