Woman Who Killed Husband With Ax Released From Federal Prison

PEARL RIVER, NY—The woman convicted of killing her estranged scientist husband with an ax and hammer and then chopping his body into 65 pieces in his Pearl River apartment has been released from federal prison.

Rita Gluzman, 72, formerly of New Jersey was released Tuesday from the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, prison records show.

According to WFAA-TV, Gluzman was granted a compassionate release from FMC Carswell after experiencing several medical issues including multiple strokes and a diagnosis of early Parkinson’s disease.

The TV station reported that Gluzman has also had trouble standing up and walking and relies on a walker or wheelchair to move around.

Gluzman flew from DFW International Airport to New Jersey to begin five years of court-ordered supervised release, KHOU-TV reported. Gluzman is staying at a Sheraton hotel in New Jersey before moving to Hackensack to live with her sister.

According to the conditions for her supervised release, Gluzman will be confined to her home with few exceptions, including doctor appointments, court appearances, religious services, employment, education, or other court-approved activities.

Gluzman also will have to wear a GPS monitoring device. While out on probation, Gluzman will be cared for by her sister.

As part of her release, Gluzman must also buy an iPhone with FaceTime to allow for virtual check-ins with her probation officer.

She also cannot have “unsolicited contact” with certain relatives, including her son, grandchildren, and other extended family members specified by the court.

Rita, a former chemical engineer, married Yakov Gluzman, a scientist, and moved to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1977. By 1995, their marriage began falling apart. That year, Yakov Gluzman moved out of their New Jersey house and rented a second-floor apartment in Pearl River, a few blocks from work. He also began dating another woman.

In Dec. 1995, Yakov Gluzman finally filed divorce papers.

Four months later, on April 5, 1996, his estranged wife along with her cousin, Vladimir Zelenin, went to Yakov's apartment where authorities said they brutally attacked him using an ax, knife and a hammer.

He cut Yakov’s body into pieces and put them into bags before dumping the remains in the Passaic River.

Zelenin was released from prison in 2015.

Rita Gluzman was convicted of her husband's murder in April 1997. However, she served only 19 years of a life sentence. She became the first woman charged under the federal 1994 Violence Against Women Act.