Police Probe Into Poverty Hollow Homicide Continuing

By Andrew Gorosko

Police said this week they are continuing their homicide investigation into the death of Elizabeth Gough Heath, a 32-year-old woman whose skeletal remains were discovered earlier this month hidden beneath the floor of a former ground-level efficiency apartment within a barn at 89 Poverty Hollow Road.

Ms Heath had lived at the Poverty Hollow Road property until she was reported missing on April 6, 1984, by her husband John S. Heath, according to police.

The probe into Ms Heath’s death was triggered on April 14, when while cleaning the vacant apartment, the property’s current owners discovered what would later be identified as Ms Heath’s skeletal remains, which someone had placed within a dry well that was hidden beneath the flooring in the apartment’s kitchen.

Town police are being assisted by the state police’s major crime squad in the criminal probe.

Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III had no comment on the Heath homicide investigation.

Attempts to reach Mr Heath, 66, at his Bridgewater home via telephone for comment on the crime investigation have been unsuccessful.

Police had considered the disappearance of Ms Heath a “cold case,” or a probe into which the investigatory leads had gone cold, until April 14, when the discovery of her skeleton provided fresh information for the investigation.

Using dental records, the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner identified the skeletal remains as those of Ms Heath.

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner said April 28 that the cause of Ms Heath’s death remains under investigation. It is unclear how long it may take to determine cause a death, the spokeswoman said.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said this week that the police investigation is ongoing, adding that police are making progress toward their goal of solving the crime. The probe is producing information considered to be useful in terms of solving the crime, he said.

The police chief declined to comment on whether the state’s criminal forensics laboratory has provided any information to police on the circumstances of Ms Heath’s death.

Many people have been interviewed, the police chief added, but he declined to say how many have been questioned in the case. On April 19, Chief Kehoe had said that between 15 and 20 people had been interviewed, including the family and friends of the late Ms Heath.

Chief Kehoe again has declined to say whether police have interviewed Mr Heath. The police chief declined to say whether police consider Mr Heath a suspect in the case, or whether there are multiple suspects.

Chief Kehoe declined to say whether police have established a motive for Ms Heath having been killed by someone.

The police chief said that police are awaiting a analytic report from the state’s criminal forensics laboratory on physical evidence that police collected at 89 Poverty Hollow Road.

“It [analytic report] may take some time to complete,” Chief Kehoe said in a statement.

Chief Kehoe said police have received some useful information from the public in their probe into Ms Heath’s death. Police ask anyone with information on Ms Heath’s death to contact them at 203-426-5841.