Estranged husband, then 36, claims he is innocent as he is arrested for killing wealthy older wife, 47, six years after she was found dead in the bathtub 

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The estranged husband of a finance executive who was found dead six years ago in her Manhattan bathtub pleaded not guilty to her murder in court Monday.

Shele Danishefsky Covlin, 47, was found dead a day before she was planning to exclude her husband, Roderick Covlin, from her will. 

Covlin was arrested at the Scarsdale Metro North train station on Sunday by three NYPD detectives and a representative from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the New York Daily News reported. 

The 42-year-old man pleaded not guilty in court Monday to a second-degree murder charge. 

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Rod Covlin (center) is pictured with his mother (right) and then-attorney in 2010 after he appeared in court over custody of their children. His parents have since been granted custody of them

Covlin's lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, said his client was 'stunned' by the Sunday arrest. 

'There can be no credible evidence, because he did not kill his wife,' Gottlieb said after a brief court appearance.

Gottlieb has said previously that his client wasn't responsible for Shele's death on New Year's Eve in 2009.

The woman's mother, Elaine Danishefsky, is pleased with Covlin's arrest and says it's been 'terrible' without her daughter. 

'It's about time,' Danishefsky told the Daily News. 'I just hope he gets what he deserves.We're always missing her.' 

Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement: 'It is our hope that this prosecution will bring justice for Ms. Danishevsky Covlin, and provide closure to her grieving family and friends.' 

Scene: Her body was found in the bath tub of her apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan by her nine-year-old daughter on New Year's Eve in 2009

Police said the couple was in the midst of a costly and nasty divorce when their nine-year-old daughter, Anna, found her mother submerged in the bathtub of their West 68th Street apartment in New York City around 7am.

Investigators initially thought she had slipped and fallen, striking her head. After her Orthodox Jewish family objected to an autopsy for religious reasons, the cause of her death was listed as undetermined.

Her body was later exhumed with her family's permission, and medical examiners concluded in April 2010 that she had been strangled.

Shele Covlin reportedly told friends that her husband, who was aged 36 at the time, had threatened to hurt her, and that she was going to remove him from her will.  

Fall: Shele Covlin was found in the bath tub of her apartment (file photo) with a gash to her head. It was later determined that she was strangled after her body was exhumed so that an autopsy could be performed

Her divorce lawyer, Dominic Barbara, told the New York Post that Covlin was a 'violent' man. 

'The moment I was told she died, I said, 'He killed her,'' Barbara told The Post on Monday. 

'[The family] didn't want to do an autopsy, but I kept insisting. He was violent. I got him thrown out of the apartment based on his violence.'

Covlin, who was an unemployed backgammon player at the time, was living across the hall from his wife and their two kids, Anna and Myles. 

He reportedly still had a key to the apartment after his wife kicked him out, the Post reported. 

All three had an order of protection issued against him.

'She was fearful for her life, believed Rod intended to kill her, and there was some urgency to make changes in her will,' documents filed in Surrogate's Court say.

Accusations began to swirl around the father-of-two in court papers over his wife's estate and their divorce. At the time of her death, she was employed at UBS as a wealth manager. 

Covlin unsuccessfully lobbied to claim ownership of her estate, which is now valued at roughly $4million.

In 2011, a judge denied Covlin access to her insurance policy after discovering that he was the prime suspect in her death. 

In recent years, Covlin, who holds degrees from Columbia University and Fordham University, founded the U.S. Backgammon Federation. 

The former stock trader has played in tournaments around the country, including one in Florida last month, according to the federation's website. 

Covlin (center), was an unemployed backgammon player when he allegedly murdered his wife. In 2011, a judge denied Covlin access to her insurance policy after discovering that he was the prime suspect in her death

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