Elizabeth Heath, the 30-year-old mother whose skeletal remains were found last Wednesday in a chamber beneath the sub-flooring in a barn, was the victim of a homicide, the state medical examiner announced on Friday.
The medical examiner’s office did not release the cause of Heath’s death at the request of prosecutors, who did not want to tip off people that the state and local police are questioning about Heath’s killing. The medical examiner used dental records to positively ID the skeleton as Heath.
A friend of Elizabeth Heath said Friday that her disappearance never made any sense. She was a devoted mother to her then 4-year-old daughter, Meghann. She also was an organic gardener and made her own clothes. “She just wouldn’t up and leave,” said Barbara DeLong of Bethel. Meghann got married and about two years ago, moved to Puerto Rico.
John Heath’s divorce from his wife continued after her disappearance and was completed that same year. In 1985, he married Raquel Figueroa Heath, has two children with her, and the couple runs a painting company.
Yellow crime-scene tape remained in the front yard at 89 Poverty Hollow Road. Newtown police cars and a state police Major Crime Squad van were parked in the driveway, evidence that police were still busy at the scene. Read more here.