The family of a Hamptons woman whose death was ruled a suicide wants police to reopen the case.
"I don't believe she would have taken her own life," says Maria Dulchi, the woman's niece.
A hunter found Lilia Aucapina's body hanging from a tree in the woods near her Wainscott home six weeks after she'd gone missing last fall.
Aucapina was last seen alive in October after an altercation between her boyfriend and her estranged husband, from whom she was getting divorced. Police responded to the scene and Aucapina drove away on her own.
Family members say they believe there was foul play involved in her disappearance, but police say they're convinced the death was a suicide.
"There were text messages that were sent out from her phone to her daughter and to her son saying, 'Remember, I love you,'" says Southampton Town Police Chief Robert Pearce. "Also to the gentleman she was having a relationship with, saying that 'I am going to disappear forever, please remember that I love you.'"
Police have recently given family members access to new information related to the case, including the results of a preliminary autopsy, which also concluded the death was a suicide.
Investigators did initially turn to Aucapina's estranged husband in the case. She had filed an order of protection against him.
But authorities say he had a valid alibi.