Ex-Wife Accused Of Manslaughter In Noted Brookline Man's Death

BROOKLINE, MA — A 53-year-old mother of three pleaded not guilty Friday to manslaughter charges stemming from the January 2020 death of her ex-husband, a Brookline consultant who helped run former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign.

Penelope McGee was held on $2,500 bail after her arraignment in Norfolk Superior Court. She is accused of killing Andrew Savitz, 66, at his Meadowbrook Road home while their 18-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son were in the house.

According to court records, McGee told police she had gone to her ex-husband's house on Jan. 28, 2020, after Savitz's brother emailed her, evicting her from the home where she had been living. McGee said she and Savitz, who had suffered a stroke a few months earlier, got into an argument.

McGree told police Savitz pushed her and grabbed her hair, knocking her into the table in the kitchen. She also said she administered CPR after Savitz fell and passed out in the front hallway.

But, according to court records, her daughter who was at the home along with McGee's son, told police at the time she heard her parents arguing and her father asking McGee to leave.

When the 18-year-old came downstairs to see what was going on, she saw her mother slapping her father in the face and chest and pushing and shoving him in the front hallway, the court documents said. That's when she called 911. She said she saw her father collapse, and she watched her mother perform CPR until police arrived.

When police got to the Meadowbrook Road home just after 11 p.m., they found Savitz on the hallway floor unconscious, gurgling, but still breathing. Police saw a number of broken plates and food containers strewn about the kitchen, according court records.

First responders rushed Savitz to Beth Israel Hospital, where he died just after midnight on Jan. 29.

An autopsy showed Savitz suffered from several health issues in addition to the stroke. The chief medical examiner's office determined the cause of death to be "cardiac dysthymia following an altercation in a person with Hypertensive and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Mellitus," according to court records dated March 18.

McGee was originally charged with assault and battery and assault and battery on a person over the age of 60 in January 2020 according to the prosecutor. Brookline police classified it as domestic violence, preventing them from releasing police reports in the days following the incident.

Last month, McGee violated conditions of her release, which required her to undergo random alcohol testing. Prosecutor Jennifer Blair requested McGee be held on $20,000 bail, noting she missed several testing dates in February and was now indicted on manslaughter charges.

Larry Tipton, McGee's attorney, said Friday in court that McGee had undergone testing for alcohol and there has been no evidence that she'd violated the condition that she not drink.

He said she suffered from depression, and it was difficult for her to leave her home. In the past year she has worked as a contract tracer and been certified as a suicide prevention hotline operated. Tipton argued McGee was turning her life around amid tragedy and should not be held on bail.

McGee has no prior criminal record, Tipton said in court.

Savitz wrote a book in 2006 called "The Triple Bottom Line," about how top companies achieve economic, social and environmental success. He was the principal consultant at Sustainable Business Strategies for some 15 years, advising organizations on how to become more sustainable, based on the strategies he wrote about in the book, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In 1988, Savitz helped run the presidential campaign for Dukakis "offering war room training and advice to George Stephanopoulos," according to his obituary.