Skeletal Remains Identified as Missing Woman And Labeled A Homicide

A skeleton pulled from a building at 89 Poverty Hollow Road has been identified as the remains of Elizabeth Heath, a woman who was reported missing in 1984, police said.

"We have upgaded this to a homicide investigation," Newtown police Lt. George Sinko said.

Heath was 30-years-old when she was reported missing by her husband, John, from that address in 1984.

Police said that at the time she went missing, officials had little to raise their suspicions and there was reason to believe she may have left voluntarily. Officials had considered her disappearance a cold case. She is survived by children, though police did not say how many and whether they lived nearby.

Police also did not say whether John Heath was a suspect in her death or disappearance, only saying  they know where he lives and that the investigation continues. The state medical examiner will determine the cause of Heath's death, police said.

The bones were apparently found by the owner's son, Jordan Wright, a Vermont resident who works as a contractor and who said he had been planning on renovating the apartment for him to live in. He said the bones were inside bags that contained pillows and bedding material, including a mattress pad that appeared to have been wrapped around the remains. The bags appeared to have been hidden underneath a concerte floor hatch.

Officials would not comment on Wright's account of what happened, saying the case remained under investigation.

Newtown police detectives, assisted by state police, were at 89 Poverty Hollow Road around the clock, investigating the case, roping off the driveway with crime scene tape and appearing to focus their attention on a building along the side of the property. Detectives, as well as a police dog, returned to the scene early this morning.

Police said that shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday someone working at the property reported finding a possible human bone. Authorities would not say what type of bone it was, though Jordan Wright said that he first pulled out a femur bone, though he suspected other remains were in the bag because it was heavy.

Neighbors Roger and Suzanne Letso, who live next door to 89 Poverty Hollow Road, said they had seen police vehicles on the property Wednesday afternoon but had not known what had happened until later in the evening when the couple went out for pizza and saw a dozen town and state police vehicles, an ambulance and large police presence.

"I saw a bunch of guys with masks and gloves," Letso said of investigators.

The couple, who has lived in the area for eight years, said the house has been in decrepit condition for years.

The deck is rotting, wires are hanging from the ceiling and chicken wires appear to box in parts of a loft, Letso said. At one point, hundreds of stacked lead pant cans filled the interior of an outbuilding, though after neighbors complained about the smell, the paint was removed, Letso said.

Although the house has sat vacant for several months now, a tenant had occupied the space for a year. Before that, the residence had been home to a revolving door of people, many of whom spoke different languages, the couple said. Prior to that, there had been a couple living in the house for many years, but then they abruptly left one day, Letso said.

"The place was creepy to begin with," she said. "It just had a bad vibe to it."

The 3-acre property belongs to a limited liability corporation named 89 Poverty Hollow Road LLC, which is listed under Sandra Wright's name. During the past few years, ownership has changed several times, according to town records. Deutsche Bank owned the property in 2005 and according to archived newspaper reports, John Heath and Raquel J. Heath-Figueroa owned the residence for a time before that.

In 1984, John Heath was married to Elizabeth and on April 6 of that year reported his wife missing, police said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect new information received on the case.