DEC officers raise reward in 1981 cold case murder

There has been a renewed effort and a reward offered to crack a 1981 cold case that took place in Mattituck. The bodies of Michelle and William Becker were found in the Mattituck Inlet, then known

News 12 Staff

Mar 10, 2016, 3:34 AM

Updated 3,108 days ago

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There has been a renewed effort and a reward offered to crack a 1981 cold case that took place in Mattituck.
The bodies of Michelle and William Becker were found in the Mattituck Inlet, then known as Matt-A-Mar Marina, one day after they went to a dinner party at a friend's house on Reeve Lane in Mattituck.
Becker, a state DEC officer, was still wearing his uniform when police pulled his body out of the water. Police called the drownings accidental, but not everyone agreed.
"For the past 35 years, we never felt that it was a double accidental drowning," said Becker's brother-in-law, Mike Malkush.
Malkush is convinced there are people who have more information on the case. He said there were many issues with the case back in 1981, including photographs that malfunctioned in police cameras, the fact that the chief of police took an early retirement a month after the case and that the last people to see the couple were not cooperative.
On Wednesday, the DEC officers' union and fraternal organization offered $15,000 leading to an arrest.