New York socialite, Lara Prychodko (pictured), 48, who was found dead at the bottom of a trash chute at her apartment in 2018 reportedly had an affair with the former CEO of WebMD before her death
A New York socialite who was found dead at the bottom of a trash chute at her luxury Manhattan apartment in 2018 reportedly had an affair with the former CEO of WebMD before her death.
Lara Prychodko, 48, was found dead on July 18, 2018, at her $6,500-per-month apartment at Zeckendorf Towers in Union Square.
Police investigating her death at the time concluded that she drunkenly fell into the the chute by accident.
Before her death, Prychodko was reportedly in the middle of a contentious divorce with her estranged husband, David Christopher Schlachet, and had lost custody of her 12-year-old son, Talin.
At the same time, Prychodko was allegedly having an affair with former WebMD CEO, Wayne Gattinella, according to a recent report from the New York Post.
In the months leading up to her death, Gattinella who is now the president and CEO of tech company, DoubleVerify Inc, reportedly signed the Zeckendorf Towers lease with Prychodko in January 2018.
According to the Post, the pair had been dating since 2009 and Prychodko was putting pressure on Gattinella to leave his wife of 40 years Valerie.
In an email from May 2019 that was obtained by the newspaper, Prychodko wrote to the millionaire: ‘I just woke up missing my beautiful amazing son whom I’ve lost because of my love of you.’
She also wrote to the father-of-four: ‘You said you would take care of private school. But you are not. My child deserves the same privilege yours do.’
Prychodko (right) was allegedly having an affair with former WebMD CEO, Wayne Gattinella (left). The pair had reportedly been dating since 2009 and Prychodko was putting pressure on Gattinella to leave his wife of 40 years Valerie
Before her death, Prychodko (pictured with her husband in 2010) was in the middle of a bitter divorce with her estranged husband, David Christopher Schlachet
Prychodko (pictured with her husband and son in 2009), 48, had also lost her son in a custody battle with her estranged husband before her death
Eventually, Gattinella’s wife, Valerie, learned of their alleged relationship when she found a charge for a gym membership at Equinox on her husband’s credit card statement, according to the Post.
Prychodko’s friend, Amanda Armstrong, told the Post that when Valerie found out about the affair ‘she hit the roof’.
But Gattinella, who met Prychodko in 2002 while she worked as an online publisher for WedMD, started to be ‘very rude’ to Prychodko after his wife found the membership.
‘Lara was sick of being the mistress. That’s what she had been for many years,’ Armstrong said.
Not long after Prychodko died, Gattinella’s wife filed for divorce.
It’s unclear if the alleged affair between Gattinella and Prychodko led to their split.
Gattinella owned a $4.5million property in Greenwich, Connecticut, that was purchased in 1999. The home is now on the market.
The millionaire also owned a vacation property in East Hampton that’s worth more than $2million. He also owned two condos in Manhattan both worth $2million each.
During their split, Valerie held onto the couple’s 2019 Porsche Macan and Gattinella hung onto a 1997 Porsche and their Manhattan properties. Valerie currently has the East Hampton property.
Prychodko was found dead on July 18, 2018, at her $6,500-per-month apartment at Zeckendorf Towers (pictured) in Union Square
Her body was found at the bottom of a trash chute (pictured) in the Zeckendorf Towers
Prychodko was found in this refuse closet by a maintenance worker in July 2018
Gattinella was named CEO of WedMD in 2005. He resigned from the company in 2012 and that same year he joined DoubleVerify as their CEO and president.
A source told the Post that Gattinella’s alleged affair with Prychodko began in 2009.
Gattinella was questioned by police after Prychodko died, but he was never named as a suspect in her death.
He told the Post in an email that Prychodko was a ‘former colleague and friend’.
At the time of Prychodko’s death, investigators concluded that it was an accident.
But earlier this month, the famed pathologist who controversially concluded that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy showed signs of murder claimed in bombshell new findings that Prychodko’s death was not a tragic accident.
New York City’s former chief medical examiner Dr Michael Baden claimed that the mother-of-one may not have plunged to her death accidentally, and her body showed signs of strangulation.
In a letter to Prychodko’s family, Baden concluded that she ‘may have died because of homicidal ligature strangulation and was then placed in the garbage chute’.
At the time of Prychodko’s death, investigators concluded that it was an accident
But earlier this month, famed pathologist, Dr Michael Baden (pictured) who controversially concluded that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy showed signs of murder claimed in bombshell new findings that Prychodko’s death was not a tragic accident
Baden claimed that the mother-of-one ( pictured with her husband in 2012) may not have plunged to her death accidentally, and her body showed signs of strangulation
Baden was recruited by Lara’s family after her father Nicholas Prychodko refused to accept the results from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, who closed the case ‘with no resolution’ just two months after her death.
Investigators said that Prychodko was last seen alive on video surveillance around 4.20pm, apparently intoxicated and stumbling around the 27th floor of the Zeckendorf Towers where she lived.
She was found ‘crushed from multiple angles’ around 30 minutes later by the building’s maintenance worker.
The city’s Chief Medical Examiner ruled her cause of death as ‘undetermined’ but said that it did not involve foul play.
Her father has long maintained that his daughter was murdered and for a period moved from his home in Toronto to New York to press for a further probe into her death.
Baden offered to investigate the case pro-bono for the family after being approached by Nicholas.
According to the New York Post, he reviewed autopsy notes, X-rays, lab tests and crime scene photos before sending his findings to the family in a letter on July 15, 2019, just less than a year after the death.
His findings concluded that strangulation may have been the reason why there was little bleeding from Prychodko body when she went down the chute and was crushed.
Baden was also concerned about the woman being topless in the crime scene photo.
‘One of the first things he said was that her blouse was off,’ Nicholas told the Post.
‘He felt that was unusual and a potential indication of a struggle before she died.’
Prychodko’s ex, construction executive Schlachet, was the co-founder of Taocon Inc, a construction company in New York, which owed more than $3.4million to creditors and had assets of only $550,844. Schlachet (right) has never been a suspect in her death
David Schlachet with his son Talin Schlachet in 2017 – David won custody over Talin before Prychodko’s death
Nicholas has doggedly argued that the death was murder because there was a lack of video footage from the hallway outside Prychodko’s apartment where the chute was located.
The only video footage shows Lara entering the elevator, apparently drunk, at 4.10pm.
A neighbor on the 27th floor claimed that she returned to her own apartment around 4.20pm but emerged 10 minutes later when she heard a noise in the hallway.
She told police then that she spotted a purse by the trash compactor entrance.
This purse belonged to Prychodko.
‘After completing a thorough investigation which included interviewing multiple individuals and viewing video, there is no criminality suspected at this time, and it is believed to be an accident,’ NYPD Lt John Grimpel said in 2018 after the investigation concluded.
Prychodko’s ex, construction executive Schlachet, was the co-founder of Taocon Inc, a construction company in New York, which owed more than $3.4million to creditors and had assets of only $550,844, according to documents filed in federal court in 2016.
The company filed for bankruptcy in 2016, the same year that he filed for divorce from Prychodko.
The couple were regularly pictured on the Manhattan social circuit and in The Hamptons before they parted ways. Their wedding was announced by The New York Times in 2003.
The two were in mediation to divide up their properties – a home in the Hamptons and apartments in Chelsea and Williamsburg – when the 48-year-old died, according to her lawyer.
Baden was recruited by Lara’s family after her father Nicholas Prychodko (right) refused to accept the results from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, who closed the case ‘with no resolution’ just two months after her death
She had also lost custody of their son Talin and was required to undergo regular drug and alcohol testing as part of the settlement, her attorney Eric A. Seiff told the Post after her death.
Prychodko had a 2012 conviction for driving while intoxicated and allegedly told her lawyer that she believed her addiction issues were brought on by a ‘growing brain tumor’.
‘I know she was absolutely convinced the pain and dependency she was experiencing that had her drinking was directly related to the growing brain tumor,’ Seiff said.
However, Seiff said that his client had passed all of her recent ‘professionally monitored’ drug tests and when he talked to her on the Monday before her death she seemed ‘upbeat’.
‘I have not been aware of a single test that she failed the last year. For the last six months [the tests] have been professionally supervised,’ Seiff said.
He also told the Post that the financial talks regarding the divorce had turned in her favor in the weeks leading up to her death.
‘I was utterly shocked when I heard about her death,’ he said. ‘I just know her death was not an accident.’
Her father, Nicholas revealed to the Post that after his daughter’s death, Schlachet immediately took control of their shared properties, selling the Toronto condo for $700,000 and renting one of their Southampton homes for $75,000 a month.
Schlachet has never been named a suspect in is wife’s death.
After receiving Baden’s results in 2019, Nicholas attempted again to reopen his daughter’s case, submitting them to the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The Canadian Consulate in New York also pushed for a further investigation.
Baden claimed that Jeffrey Epstein had also died by murder not suicide
Dr Oz speaks with Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden on Jeffrey Epstein’s cause of death
The OCME refused, however, saying that they ‘have found no signs of foul play in your daughter’s death’.
‘I have consequently informed the OCME, I no longer have any faith in their professional integrity, nor do I any longer accept the validity of their autopsy report and its conclusions,’ Nicholas said of the response, adding that he had also met with a representative of the Manhattan DA’s Office.
Nicholas concluded that he is now poised to hire a private investigator to try to uncover new evidence about the death.
The NYPD repeated earlier this month that they had ‘determined’ no criminal activity was involved in Prychodko’s death.
Baden was also hired by the family of Jeffrey Epstein when he was found hanging in his cell at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August 2019.
The pathologist controversially announced that he believed Epstein’s autopsy showed signs of homicide over suicide.