Connecticut man, John Heath, pleaded not guilty in a state Superior Court on Tuesday morning, in the death of his wife, Elizabeth Heath.
Elizabeth went missing in 1984, at the age of 31, days after john filed for divorce, in what their friends and family have deemed as suspicious circumstances. According to Elizabeth’s sister-in-law, Debbie Lewis, Heath’s own mother believed that, “something wasn’t right, I know John did something to her.” According to the warrant, the 31-year-old mom told Lewis that, “If anything happens to me, you know that John did it.”
Elizabeth’s remains were found two years ago in a cistern beneath the barn that used to be John Heath’s property, until it was foreclosed on in 2005. The family that now owns the property decided to renovate the barn, and discovered the cistern in an underground storage area.
Although the evidence is circumstantial, owing to the degradation of DNA evidence on the body, inconsistencies in John Heath’s story, as well as his dislike for anyone to mention the room below the barn are convincing enough for prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant, which they used to take the now 68-year-old man into custody late Monday night.
Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe, said in a statement about the evidence that:
“Time and environmental factors had a definite effect on what we could do. What we have is a totality of the circumstances. You want to ask the question, `Where did this young lady go and why would she leave her child?’ “
When she disappeared, Elizabeth Heath left behind her car, most of her possessions, her dogs, and her daughter, who a former neighbor told investigators, was “joined to her at the hip.” The arrest warrant also spoke of inconsistencies in the story John Heath has told investigators since his wife went missing, although they have not elaborated on those.
A hearing is scheduled for May 15th, when a public prosecutor will be appointed to defend John Heath.
Check out more information about the discovery of Elizabeth Warren’s remains here:
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