Missing Woman’s Remains Found 26 Years

The discovery of a femur bone during renovation at a Newtown property led police to a full human skeleton that was positively identified as missing woman Elizabeth Heath on Thursday evening.

Dental records on file since Elizabeth Heath went missing in 1984 while she was divorcing her husband John, matched teeth found in a skull unearthed here. Police said the death was being investigated as a homicide.

The femur was found Wednesday afternoon on a Poverty Hollow Road property while workers were performing renovation work. The bone was discovered in an old dry well in the basement of the barn. The dry well was covered by a wood board and cement. The homeowner said when the boards and cement were removed, garbage bags full of bedding and a femur were found. When police arrived, they said more bones were found and that an entire human skeleton had been located on Thursday afternoon.

“Upon examination it was determined remains were human and upgraded to a homicide investigation,” said Lt. George Sinko of the Newtown Police Department.

The former owner of the home is John Heath, whose wife, Elizabeth Gough Heath, disappeared in 1984. John Heath now lives in Bridgewater. The Heaths were in the process of divorce when Elizabeth disappeared, according to court documents.

John Heath left the property in 2005 when the bank foreclosed on the home. “They left in the middle of the night, just suddenly left, a bunch of people living there suddenly gone,” said neighbor Suzanne Letso. Police did not say whether they were looking for John Heath, or if they had already made contact with him.