Peggy Nadell murder suspect charged with jailhouse plot to kill witnesses

CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. (WABC) -- A Florida woman accused of beating, choking and stabbing her mother-in-law in Rockland County and hiring another woman to help her is now facing new charges.

Diana Nadell, 51, was indicted in an alleged jailhouse plot to intimidate and kill two prosecution witnesses in her upcoming trial for the murder of Peggy Nadell.

Diana Nadell is charged with conspiracy, attempted intimidating a witness, and attempted tampering with a witness.

She is currently awaiting trial for the January 25 murder in Valley Cottage.

Prosecutors say that while being held at the Orange County Jail in Goshen, Diana Nadell contacted another inmate whom she believed was being deported to Jamaica.

According to the charges, she solicited the inmate to participate in a plot to murder two of the cooperating witnesses she believed would provide crucial testimony against her at trial.

Nadell faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison without parole on the murder charges. The defendant faces an additional 5 to 15 years in state prison if convicted of the top count of the latest indictment.

80-year-old Peggy Nadell, a well-known community activist, was murdered inside her home.

Prosecutors have charged Diana Nadell and three other women in the case, accusing them of hatching the plot to get their hands on Peggy Nadell's $4 million estate.

Police have said the daughter-in-law wanted her "marital inheritance."