Sheffield Man Charged with Murdering Connecticut Man
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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.
Tags: murder,
