The NY State Senate passed today a bill that will help ensure the speedy identification of a recovered body in case of a tragic event. The ‘Expedited Missing Persons Act’ was introduced after the brutal kidnapping and murder of Menachem Stark of blessed memory, where it took for law enforcement hours to piece together the recovered body in Nassau County with the ongoing search in Brooklyn. Afterwards, Rabbi David Niederman raised the issue with the state legislature representatives of Williamsburg, and Assemblyman Joe Lentol introduced a bill in the Assembly that will help prevent such critical delays. Senator Daniel Squadron sponsored the bill in the Senate, and Senator Felder played a key role in today’s passage.

“Excruciating hours passed between when Menachem Stark’s body was located, until the authorities realized that the unidentified body in Nassau County was Mr. Stark. The family endured needless pain and anguish between when the body was found until they were notified it was Menachem. We hope that no one else experiences anything similar,” said Rabbi Niederman. “This bill was introduced to ensure that in tragic events, the suffering is not increased unnecessarily. Additionally, it will ensure that the body is handled respectfully, according to the family’s wishes.”

“I want to thank Rabbi David Niederman for bringing this issue to my attention. The lapse in time between finding an unidentified deceased person and matching them with an identity is crucial to an investigation. The new Lentol-Squadron-Felder law will take direct aim at efficiently streamlining this process for both the DCJS and local police precincts. This has been a great effort between myself, Senator Squadron and Senator Felder to improve this important section of criminal law. Our partnership will continue as we work to ensure that the Governor signs this legislation and implements it as the state policy,” Said Assemblyman Joe Lentol.

“When a tragedy occurs, prompt notification makes a difference for families and law enforcement,” said Senator Daniel Squadron. “Today’s passage of our Expedited Missing Persons Act is an important step toward making the system work better so we can all have more confidence everything possible is being done to quickly connect with loved ones, and to move forward investigations. I’m pleased to have worked with the community and Rabbi Niederman and thank Assemblymember Lentol for his leadership.”

“We are grateful to the lead sponsors, Assemblyman Lentol and Senator Squadron, and for Senator Felder for getting the bill passed today. We thank all statewide and local elected officials voting and supporting, and especially those who joined us, at the UJO, many months ago when announcing the introduction of the bill,” Rabbi Niederman concluded.

(YWN Desk – NYC)