Prominent RI Woman Goes on Trial for Death of Her Ex-Husband in MA

Prominent RI Woman Goes on Trial for Death of Her Ex-Husband in MA

Penelope "Penny" McGee, a prominent Rhode Island woman from a family of political players, is now going on trial in Massachusetts for the death of her husband. She had national political ties and married a top adviser to Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.  

The trial begins on Tuesday.

The 58-year-old mother of three McGee now is in Norfolk Superior Court in Massachusetts facing manslaughter charges tied to the death of her ex-husband Andrew Savitz. The death was more than five years ago.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

She has pleaded not guilty.

And, the judge hearing the case is Beverly Cannone — who presided over the Karen Read case.

McGee opted for a bench trial, which means the judge will determine her guilt or innocence.

 

Ex-Husband and McGee's Background

Savitz helped run former Massachusetts Governor Dukakis' 1988 presidential campaign and was a consultant based in Brookline before his death.  

According to her LinkedIn page, McGee, who had once served as a Vice President at J.P. Morgan Chase where she launched a "Women and Philanthropy" program, was the founding Executive Director of the Council of Women World Leaders at the Kennedy School at Harvard. 

“The allegations are that the defendant went to the home of her ex-husband, Andrew Savitz, who was 66 at the time, on the night of January 28, 2020, after receiving an email from his brother about evicting her from her residence,” said District Attorney Michael Morrissey.

Brookline Police had classified the incident as domestic violence and did not publicly release information in the aftermath. 

 

Court Documents

Court documents on file in Norfolk Superior Court state that McGee and a family member who was in the home at the time gave different versions of the events that followed. 

The family member heard “Savitz, repeatedly asking [McGee] to leave the house. When she went downstairs to see what was going on, [she/the witness] saw the defendant slapping the victim in the face and chest and pushing and shoving him. [She/the witness] indicated that she called 911 and while she was on the phone with the dispatcher the victim collapsed and fell to the ground,” according to the Commonwealth’s Statement of the Case filed at arraignment.

Savitz was transported to Beth Israel Hospital and pronounced deceased shortly after midnight. 

According to court documents: “An autopsy was performed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on January 30, 2020. Dr. Rebecca Dedrick performed the autopsy and discovered that the victim had suffered from diabetes mellitus as well as hypertensive, atherosclerotic and valvular cardiovascular disease. The victim had also experienced a stroke a few months prior to this incident.”

“Given the condition of the victim’s health and the facts of the incident that occurred, Dr. Deidrick opined that the cause of death was Cardiac Dysrhythmia following an altercation in a person with Hypertensive and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Mellitus.”