Report: Ex-Zappos CEO Hsieh had planned to rehab in Conn.
Investigators are working on timeline of fatal fire in New London
NEW LONDON — Tony Hsieh’s stay on Connecticut’s shoreline was far different from the time he spent living in a ski town in Utah for several months over the summer.
The tech mogul bought a mansion this summer in Park City, Utah, before arriving in New London for a brief stay in a waterfront home on Pequot Avenue where a fire led to his death last month.
The quiet shoreline community features private beaches, a lighthouse and expansive waterfront views. Houses are sandwiched between the road and the Thames River as it flows into the Long Island Sound.
On a recent weekday, traffic was light on the street as the occasional resident walked a dog and cyclists sped along the coastline. Workers on their break parked along the side of the road, taking in the views.
Situated near the intersection of Pequot Avenue and Westomere Terrace is 500 Pequot Ave. — an address that was catapulted into national headlines in recent weeks after a fire in a storage area connected to the house caught fire during the earlymorning hours of Nov. 18.
A person was trapped or “barricaded” inside, based on initial dispatch reports from that morning. That person was later identified as Hsieh, 46, the former CEO and founder of Zappos who retired in August.
Police said Hsieh was unresponsive when he was pulled from the fire. He was rushed to nearby Lawrence + Memorial Hospital before taken to Bridgeport Hospital’s burn center where he died on Nov. 27.
What caused the fire?
In the weeks since the fire, local officials have combed through evidence as they investigate the cause of the flames, but it could be weeks before they have a full picture of what happened, New London Police Chief Peter Reichard said.
“There was only one person in the room when this took place,” Reichard said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media. “The investigators are piecing together a timeline of events leading up to the fire.”
The police chief said investigators need to analyze the inside of the storage area where the fire occurred to determine what ignited the blaze.
“They’re trying to determine if anything possibly criminal took place up until that point or not, or if this is just a tragic accident,” Reichard said.
Reichard said he could not estimate the size of the storage area, but described it as
“small.” Property records for the Pequot Avenue home show a 286-square-foot shed on the property, valued at $4,600.
Seen from the street, the storage area is attached to the left side of the house and has a slanted roof with a skylight. The space is accessible by double doors that face the water.
Reichard said officials are still awaiting toxicology reports for Hsieh, a part of the autopsy process that can take up to eight weeks to complete.
James Gill, the state’s chief medical examiner, ruled Hsieh’s death as accidental from complications of smoke inhalation. However, Gill said the ruling could change if evidence to the contrary is found.
“If new information comes to light on any case, we will take it into account,” Gill said.
Reichard said the investigation remains ongoing and did not have new information to release.
The fire was the first time police responded to the Pequot Avenue home, Reichard said. He said there had been no prior incidents or complaints reported to police.
‘Center of a national story’
Mayor Michael Passero, who grew up in New London and has spent most of his life in the shoreline city, said the community is no stranger to the national spotlight.
“We’re used to having motorcades and presidents,” Passero said. “We’re used to having movie stars and actors because of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.”
“Being in the headlines for something like this, that’s really not a new experience,” he added, citing the infamous 1973 death of Kevin Showalter and a prominent eminent domain case as two examples.
Showalter died after being hit by a driver while he was changing a car tire on Pequot Avenue in 1973. The case drew national attention, with claims that police lost or failed to gather evidence. No charges were ever filed.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the eminent domain case — Kelo v. New London — also drew national attention. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government could use eminent domain to seize private property and turn it over to private developers. The land seized was Fort Trumbull, which Passero said was an urban development site.
“This is really the latest one where New London ends up the center of a national story for one reason or another,” Passero said, referring to Hsieh’s death.
Passero said he doesn’t think the residents are bothered by the spotlight.
“I don’t think anybody in this city is feeling like we’ve got the eyes of the world on us,” he said.
Passero called the Pequot Avenue community “idyllic.”
He said that while New London is primarily a community comprised of families who can trace their roots back generations, many people do migrate here.
“New people adopt us all the time,” Passero said. “Anybody can end up here.”
At the time of the fire, Hsieh was reportedly staying with longtime colleague and confidant, Rachael Brown. She bought the Pequot Avenue property in New London for $1.3 million on Aug. 3, property records show.
Brown could not be reached for comment. A white SUV was parked in the driveway during a recent afternoon, but no one answered the door.
Hsieh and Brown met through Zappos. Brown was hired in 2004 as a temporary phone representative, according to the Zappos website. About two months later, Hsieh asked Brown to lead a team that handled training of company culture for incoming employees. In 2012, Brown left the training team to oversee the quarterly allhands meetings.
Brown, originally from Connecticut, reportedly lives in Las Vegas and is a cellist with a strings ensemble and also plays in a strings orchestra.
Based on reports that Hsieh threw a party in Utah during Labor Day weekend, it is believed he came to Connecticut sometime after the holiday.
It appears Hsieh may have ended his partying habits after arriving in Connecticut. He had made plans to check into a rehabilitation clinic the day before the Nov. 18 fire in New London, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Friends report concerns
In media interviews, neighbors in Utah described
Hsieh as a man who hosted dinners and threw parties with loud music. But those with an inside look into Hsieh’s life described a man experiencing mental health and drug issues throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to various news reports in the weeks after his death.
Hsieh, credited with helping revitalize a once-neglected area of downtown Las Vegas, moved from Nevada to Utah this summer and reportedly snatched up millions of dollars of residential homes, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Various news organizations reported that Hsieh became fascinated with fire and increased his use of “whippets” — inhalations of nitrous oxide — in recent months.
Emergency phone records obtained by Business Insider from the Summit County Sheriff ’s Office in Utah showed calls from friends over the summer, expressing concern about Hsieh.
In late June, one of his friends called 911 to report Hsieh broke several things in his Utah mansion and was threatening to hurt himself, Business Insider reported. Hsieh was taken to the hospital. Another call later that same day was from someone who was concerned about Hsieh, saying it would be a “problem” if he was released from the hospital, Business Insider reported.
In mid-August, another friend called 911 to report a “high-profile” friend was acting “very paranoid,” according to Business Insider. The man told the dispatcher he was concerned for Hsieh’s safety.
Business Insider and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Hsieh frequently held parties at his Utah mansion.
The Review-Journal quoted a Utah neighbor who reported seeing a flamethrower being used during a Labor Day weekend party.
During the months leading up to the Connecticut fire, Hsieh’s friends and family had tried unsuccessfully to stage interventions, according to Forbes.
One person, who Forbes described as one of Hsieh’s close friends, said “it was difficult for him to be alone” during the pandemic.
In a letter obtained by Forbes, the singer Jewel wrote to Hsieh in August, concerned about his downward spiral that she said she witnessed while at his Utah home.
“You are in trouble, Tony,” Jewel wrote in the letter, according to Forbes.