Friday, May 18, 2012
Residents say she should be remembered not for her recent troubles but for her kindness and generous commitment to local causes.
While officials worked to discover the cause of her death, friends remember Bedford resident Mary Richardson Kennedy in life as an energetic professional and warm, caring individual. "She was very easy to talk to and so supportive of our work," said Brian Skanes, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club in Mt. Kisco. Kennedy was involved in the nonprofit organization for several years as a volunteer on the club's annual fundraising dinner. When she heard about the club's Youth of the Year awards, she volunteered to host the event at her home. An accomplished architect, Kennedy led the renovations on her home on South Bedford Road, which included several ecologically-friendly designs. "For several weeks leading up to the dinner I …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Police were called to "an unattended death" at 1:36 p.m. in an out-building on the property.
Updated, 6:05 p.m. Thursday The Westchester County Medical Examiner's office released a statement Thursday afternoon saying Mary Kennedy's cause of death was asphyxiation due to hanging. Updated, 11:40 a.m. Thursday The New York Times is reporting that Kennedy's body was found hanging in a barn behind their home and that authorities who responded to the scene had attempted to cut her down and revive her. Kennedy apparently left a note. Authorities have not released a cause of death and an autopsy is scheduled for this morning. Original Story Mary Kennedy, the 52-year-old estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was found dead in her Bedford home today. The Kennedy family released a statement to the press Wednesday evening: "We deeply …
Lisa MacDougall was driving with her two sons when she was involved in a one-car accident, according to police.
A 44-year-old women was arrested on May 8 after police found her in possession of alcohol following a one-car accident. According to Lt. John Lynch, a witness told police that Lisa MacDougall of 69 Old Belden Hill Road, who was driving with her 8-year-old and 5-year-old sons, was "acting strange" after she hit a protective concrete column at the Wilton Auto & Tire Center at 210 Danbury Road multiple times resulting in a flat tire and heavy damage to the right side of the vehicle. No injuries were reported. When police arrived, they observed that MacDougall was under the influence of alcohol. Officers found an open water bottle sitting in the front cupholder containing a clear liquid that Lynch said looked like white wine. MacDougall was …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The owners reported the burglary on May 12, according to Wilton police.
The owners of a residence on Middlebrook Farm Road reported that someone broke into their home on May 12 and stole over $100,000 worth of jewelry, according to Wilton police. Lt. John Lynch said that the owners returned home just before 1 a.m. and found that someone had gained access to the home by using a ladder to get to the second floor balcony. The couple's 20-year-old son was home at the time of the incident, but told police that he didn't notice or hear anything out of the ordinary other than the family's dog barking. Lynch said that the department is currently investigating the incident and is in contact with other departments in the area to see if similar burglaries were reported.
Attorney for Wilton man who allegedly murdered his father last week requests that he be placed on suicide watch.
During a court appearance on Tuesday, the attorney for Aaron Ramsey — the Wilton man accused of bludgeoning his father to death with a wrench and then stabbing his body repeatedly — reportedly asked that his client receive further psychological evaluation and be placed on suicide watch. According to a report in the Wilton Villager, Ramsey will also undergo a competency evaluation to determine whether he understands the charges against him. Public defender Howard Ehring also asked that Ramsey receive medical attention, without going into details, according to the report. In addition Ramsey has requested that he be transferred to another prison for inmates with mental health issues, while he awaits his next court appearance, according to a …
Friday, May 11, 2012
In the wake of Aaron Ramsey's arrest on charges that he killed his father, the focus in Wilton shifts to drug use among town teens.
A Wilton High School graduate faces a shocking charge of killing his father, followed by accusations of heavy drug use. Some say this is a symptom of a larger issue in the district and a community where parents and administrators turn a blind eye to kids in the throes of addiction. School officials acknowledge the problem and say they are doing everything they can to reduce and eliminate illicit substances and substance abuse. Who is right? According to Wilton High School Principal Robert O’Donnell, drug use “comes in trends.” “I think there’s drug use here,” he said. “There’s drug use in every high school, but we want to minimize it and eradicate it as much as possible.” The comments come as the town faces questions about whether and to…
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
An unusual method of obtaining a parking spot leads to a DUI arrest in Wilton.
A witness reported seeing a vehicle entering the parking lot of Orem’s Diner at 167 Danbury Road around 11:43 p.m on May 5, where it then drove over the lawn, apparently in order to park on the other side of the grass, police reports state. Upon investigating, police said they found the driver, Maria Montoya, 36, of Morningside Court in Shelton, to be intoxicated. She was released on a promise to appear in court.
Do news organizations that publish 911 call audio help or harm the communities they serve?
The initial shockwave that swept through Fairfield County last week after the Ramsey family tragedy changed to disgust following the decision of area news outlets to publish the graphic 911 recording, during which Mrs. Ramsey told the dispatcher that her husband was lying dead “in a pool of blood.” Patch received access to the tape but did not publish a link to it. As an American writer who considers the First Amendment our most cherished right, I believe that making 911 tapes available to the public is essential to community safety; however, are we not also human beings? Did the tape need to be released so soon after Mr. Ramsey’s tragic demise? And how—if at all—did the tape’s release advance the public’s understanding of this heinous …
Monday, May 7, 2012
Unusual arrests and investigations from around Fairfield County.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Monday, May 7
A Milford man is accused of stealing about $1,600 in aluminum plates from his Trumbull employer in 2008. Police said man took the aluminum from Avery Abrasives in Trumbull and gave it to second person who sold it for money. He was detained in Milford recently, Trumbull police said. *** A man with a long blonde wig and a pellet gun resembling a handgun attempted to rob the Dunkin Donuts on Route 34 in Monroe Tuesday evening. *** A Rolex worth $8,200 was reported stolen from a YMCA locker room in New Canaan. *** Officials in Greenwich say a family of seven—five school-aged kids and their parents—is “very lucky” to have survived extremely high levels of carbon monoxide. Apparently caused by a boiler problem and unnoticed by a dysfunctional …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Aaron Ramsey, who allegedly beat his father to death and then stabbed him with a screwdriver multiple times postmortem, reportedly told police in an affidavit that the voices told him to find the identity of "the fakers and the manipulators."
The 22-year-old Wilton man charged with murdering his 73-year-old father on Thursday at their Cheese Spring Road residence, to the shock and dismay of town residents, reportedly told police in his confession that voices in his head made him to commit the crime. According to a report in The Hour of Norwalk, Aaron Ramsey, who allegedly beat his father to death and then stabbed him with a screwdriver multiple times, postmortem, told police in an affidavit that the voices told him to find the identity of "the fakers and the manipulators," and that he decided to murder his father, Edward Ramsey, when he did not give the right answer to a question. In addition, Aaron's mother, SuAnn Ramsey, told a dispatcher that her son had been acting "very, …
Lee Aydelotte
11:07 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
why thank you, I just care....and feel real bad for these folks that don't get it. Just like Diane, she always tried to make sense of it all :) more ›