The wife of 1-800-Mattress founder Napoleon Barragan was found dead Wednesday in their New York home, and her son reportedly has been charged with her murder.
Kay Barragan, 65, was found at the bottom of a flight of stairs at about 7 a.m. in the home the couple shared with son Eduardo Barragan, the New York Post reported.
Eduardo had "a history of mental incapacity," according to company spokesman Joe Vicens, and was charged soon after his mother's body was discovered, the Post reported.
Kay Barragan, who loaned her husband $2,000 in 1976 to start the bedding business, had been suffering from multiple illnesses over the past several years and was alone when she was found, Vicens said.
Napoelon Barragan has been named one of Crain's New York Business 100 most powerful minority businessmen. He and his wife were married more than 40 years.
The family has faced tough times in the past. The Barragans' daughter Beatrice died in 2003 as a result of illness, and their other son, Luis Barragan, was president of 1-800-Mattress when he died in a swimming accident in 2006.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox