Update 4:52 p.m.: The victim has been identified as 40-year-old Michael Moore of Winsted, Conn.
Bushnell pleaded not guilty in District Court and his being held without right to bail and a no-contact order to witnesses.
The witness who contacted police Monday said the defendant had shown him the body under a mattress in a greenhouse on the property. The witness was able to leave the property and immediately drove to a Connecticut State Police station near to his location.
According to the DA's Office, there were signs of blunt force trauma to Moore's head and a puncture wound in his back. Bushnell apparently returned to his property later that day because of reports his house was on fire; police believe that was prompted by the emergency dispatch calls.
When the defendant returned to the house, "he was wearing clothes stained in reddish/brown consistent with blood," according to the DA's Office.
Bushnell, a local painting contractor, and the victim had a friendship and professional connection, including being friends on Facebook. Both men were painters and sometimes worked together, according to the DA's Office, and, prior to the murder, there was a conflict between the defendant and victim regarding a shared job.
"Additionally, leading up to the murder the defendant began to demonstrate paranoid behavior and also altered the position of and turned off other security cameras around his property," according to the DA's Office.
Bushnell has been reported as owning the property where the body was found, and he was elected last year to the town's Planning Board.
Original Post at 11:04 a.m. GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The suspect in a Sheffield murder was to be arraigned in Great Barrington District Court on Tuesday.
Cole Bushnell, 41, of Sheffield is being charged with one count of murder.
According to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, an individual on Monday reported to the Connecticut State Police stating that there was a dead body at 546 Polikoff Road, Ashley Falls. The call was made about 1:34 p.m.
Connecticut State Police contacted the Sheffield Police Department and Sheffield officers located a body and, in turn, contacted the State Police Detective Unit at the DA's Office for a suspected homicide.
The defendant was not at the scene when law enforcement arrived. Later that evening, at approximately 5:23 p.m., the defendant returned to the crime scene and was arrested by the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit. At this point, it is still unclear if the defendant returned to the scene to turn himself in or for other reasons, according to the DA's office.
The DA's Office did not identify the victim or how the victim was killed. Either Bushnell or the victim is apparently a parent in the Southern Berkshire Regional School District.
An communication from Superintendent Brian Ricca sent at about 9 a.m. referred "a very unfortunate incident yesterday involving the parent of one of our students. There are serious allegations associated with this matter, and the district is fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities."
He said he wanted to reassure families that the individual and there were no "ongoing threats" to the school or community. He asked that the community refrain from speculation and said faculty and staff have been asked not to discuss or speculate the matter with students.
Law enforcement agencies involved include the Sheffield Police Department, the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services Section, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, the Connecticut State Police, Sheffield Fire, and the Massachusetts State Police Troop B.
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The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.
Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director.
Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.
The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.
"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.
Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.
"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."
One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.
Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.
"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.
They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.
"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.
The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.
Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.
"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said.
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