Elizabeth Heath: homicide confirmed

The Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner has officially confirmed what the Newtown and state police have been saying all along: Elizabeth Heath‘s death was a homicide. Heath’s death was caused by “blunt traumatic head injury by a forceful blow to the head” a spokeswoman for the office said Wednesday afternoon. She was unable to say when the cause of death was determined.

Heath’s remains were discovered April 14 under the subfloor of a basement apartment in a former barn at 89 Poverty Hollow Road. Elizabeth Heath lived on the property with her husband, John Heath, in April 1984, when she mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a young daughter and all of her belongings.

At the time Heath was 30, and the couple was in the beginning stages of a divorce. John Heath reported her missing April 6, 1984. He received a divorce about a year later and married a woman named Raquel. Heath’s family had her declared dead in 1991.

The current property owners found Heath’s remains while renovating the kitchen of the apartment. To be continued…