Yvonne L.F. Slaughter Torch, Class of 1992

Submitted by Pauline Rute Hall 52 GrammyPGH@aol.com
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   Yvonne L.F. Slaughter Torch, a resident of Marlboro, N.Y. and a beautician, owner and operator of His and Her Unisex Hair Salon, died June 8, 2004. She was 31. The daughter of Lee Slaughter and Hughet LeFebvre, she was born June 30, 1972 in Newburgh. Survivors include her husband, Pierre F. Torch Jr; daughters, Ashley Roberts and Typhane Torch, both of Marlboro; father and stepmother, Lee Jr. and Jennie Slaughter of Middlehope; brother, George Slaughter of Middlehope; sisters, Jackylin Slaughter and Heather Ioriano, both of Middlehope, Michele Whitley of Ridge Crest, Calif., and Lizzette Applegate of Ingells, Calif.; mother-in-law, Carol Torch of Middlehope; grandmother, Evelyn Snyder of Newburgh; grandmother, Theresa Kartis of Middlehope; and several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held Monday, June 14 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 at the DiDonato Funeral Home, 1290 Rt. 9W, Marlboro. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, June 15 at 10 a.m. at the funeral home with Father Edward Bader officiating. Entombment will take place in the Cedar Hill Mausoleum. Contributions may be made to a trust fund for her children: Ashley and Typhane c/o Atty: Frank Ferro's Office, 880 Old Indian Road, Milton, NY 12547. Arrangements by The DiDonato Funeral Service, Inc., Marlboro.
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Yvonne L.F. Slaughter Torch, a hairdresser who owned and operated the His and Hers Hair Salon in Balmville, was found dead on June 9. Police believe her death was a homicide. Balmville – The owner of a Route 9W beauty salon was killed in her shop yesterday morning, state police said. The victim was identified as Yvonne Torch, 31, of the Town of Marlborough. She owned the His & Hers Unisex Hair Salon on Route 9W just north of Fostertown Road. The shop is only a couple hundred yards from the Balmville Elementary School, where children could be seen playing outside while police were investigating. Police, searching for Torch's killer last night, were canvassing businesses and residences in the neighborhood. Capt. Wayne Olson of the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation said Torch was discovered by a customer who walked in shortly after 11 a.m. and found her lying dead on the floor. The customer called 911. Olson would not say how Torch was killed, nor would he comment on possible suspects or motives. An autopsy was to be performed last night, but results will not be available until today. Torch's death comes a month after restaurateur Cosimo DiBrizzi and his son, Nicolas, were shot and seriously wounded in their home, also in the Balmville section of the Town of Newburgh. Those shootings are still unsolved. Olson said there are no known connections between the DiBrizzi shootings and Torch's death yesterday. Olson said Torch arrived at her shop around 9 a.m., but investigators don't yet know exactly when she died. "She may have had visitors, but we don't know if they were customers," he said. Friends gathered yesterday evening at the home of Torch's father, Lee Slaughter. Slaughter lives directly behind his daughter's shop. When asked for information about the victim, one man who declined to give his name said, "We don't know anything. Crumbs [of information] are all we've gotten." About a dozen people stood outside Slaughter's home watching detectives work the crime scene. Silently, they hugged one another. Calls to the Slaughter home were unanswered. Danny Amato, who lives next door to Torch's shop, was visibly shaken. "She had the shop here for years," Amato said. "She was always working. I can't believe she's dead." Police roped off the small shopping plaza that housed Torch's shop and two other businesses, as well as Amato's house, while they investigated the scene. "This is what I came home to," said Amato as he paced around outside the tape. He said there have been other crimes in the neighborhood. Amato was robbed a few years ago – but nothing this serious. "You never expect to come home and … " Then his voice trailed off. Anyone who might have information regarding the case should call state police at 567-1033.