New Cold Case Team Finds Success in Solving Old Killings
Arrests made in 1993, 1997 deaths
By GREG SMITH
Norwich Bulletin
June 13, 2010
Success has come quickly for a
southeastern Connecticut cold
case unit digging up new clues
in old murders.
Fresh sets of eyes, improved
technology, a dedication of
resources and perhaps some
changing attitudes among
witnesses and suspects so far
have led to arrests in two
decade-old murder cases.
Police have hinted at more to
come.
Irene Reynolds, 38, was
arrested May 14 in connection
with the beating and strangling
death of her adoptive mother,
60-year-old Bertha Reynolds,
found dead in 1993 in
Norwich. The latest arrest
came June 2 when police
charged Dickie E. Anderson
Jr., 40, in the 1997 strangling
death of Renee Pellegrino.
Investigators in the Reynolds
case say they now have an
eyewitness, and DNA evidence
appears to have played a factor
in the Pellegrino case.
Complete details and the body
of evidence have yet to emerge
in the pending cases.
Waterford police departments
and the New London County
State‟s Attorney‟s Office and
the Office of the Chief State‟s
Attorney. Detectives from state
police Eastern District Major
Norwich Police Chief Louis J. Crime Unit worked on the
Fusaro, whose department was Pellegrino case.
hit with cuts over the past
decade, said he welcomed with “No one department or agency
open arms the additional
has the ability or resources to
resources of the cold case unit devote the time and attention
and assigned two detectives to for some of these cold cases,”
look at old unsolved murders
Kane said. “We can
in the city.
accomplish a great deal by
getting detectives freed from
“The biggest difference is the their daily caseload. A lot of
number of people working on these need time — particularly
the case. You have these
small departments who have a
detectives focused on one case, homicide once in a while.”
brainstorming, asking,
„What else can we do to solve The fact that people may not
this case?‟ ”
talk initially does not deter
detectives. Police arriving at
Fusaro credits Chief State‟s
the doorstep of a potential
Attorney Kevin Kane for
witness or suspect years after
putting the pieces together.
the fact can have a
psychological effect.
Team effort
James Monahan, assistant
The unit is a collaborative
professor of criminal justice
venture of the Connecticut
at the University of New
state police, Groton Town,
Haven, said there is another
Groton City, New London,
factor involved — time.
Norwich, Stonington and
“People age. Life situations
change. They really want to
tell what happened. They‟re no
longer taking the dope or
alcohol. They may be married
and all of a sudden there is the
reality of heaven and hell,”
Monahan said. “They‟re in
better shape psychologically.
Tension builds up. They‟re
living with that lie. Coming
forward, they will essentially
clear the air and absolve
themselves of the guilt.”
1-time killers
Monahan said the scary thing
about many of these murder
cases is, up until the time of
the murder, the suspects are
normal people who snapped.
Typically they know their
victim and they rarely commit
another murder.
Chief Inspector James Rovella,
a veteran investigator with
Hartford‟s major crime
division, oversees the cold case
unit. He said there are more
than two dozen homicide cases
dating back to 1979 waiting for
attention. The group has
compiled a priority list of
cases, including the 1998
unsolved murder of 29-yearold Michelle Comeau. A
prostitute with substance abuse
issues, Comeau was found
strangled on the side of New
Park Avenue in Norwich.
Starting over
As with the Reynolds and
Pellegrino cases, Rovella said
the reinvestigation starts by
compiling all previous
evidence associated with the
case. An analyst breaks down
and distributes the material to
“They either get caught or go investigators. Witness
statements, physical evidence,
on to live a shadow life,
looking over their shoulder for autopsy reports, photos and
the rest of their life,” Monahan suspect lists are handed out to
investigators who can then add
said.
their theories to the case.
Division of Criminal Justice
“There‟s 400 to 500 years of
experience sitting around a
table,” Rovella said. “We rely
on local experience. They have
to know the area.”
The group meets two days a
week in a “Monday-morning
quarterback” approach. Prior
work is not criticized, rather,
“the focus is strictly how we
can solve this case,” Rovella
said.
In the case of Reynolds,
reports show police traveled to
Georgia to speak with Kim
Stone, the one person police
thought probably knew more
than she was letting on at the
time and in follow-up
interviews.
The team has whittled the
group down to six or seven
cases. Rovella declined to
discuss which cases top the
list.
Kane said he hopes to expand
the idea of the cold case unit
across the state, following
success of a similar unit in
central Connecticut and the
Hartford area.