The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Police: Inconsistencies led to arrest of Redding man in shooting death of wife
REDDING — The retired physician assistant charged in the April death of his wife not only tried to make it appear she killed herself, but called several other people before reporting her death to authorities, according to recently unsealed court documents.
Richard Commaille, 70, was charged with murder following a police investigation into the death of his 64-year-old wife, Nanci, two months ago.
Richard called 911 at 10:18 p.m. April 6, requesting an ambulance come to his Top Ledge Road home because he said his wife had “just shot herself with a gun,” according to the recently unsealed warrant for his arrest.
According to authorities, Richard said he was in bed when Nanci “decided to end her life” while sitting in a chair in front of a desk next to the bed.
Officers got to the scene about 10 minutes later and Richard directed them to the bedroom, where they found his wife’s body “slouched in a chair to the left of the bed,” the arrest warrant affidavit states.
Police said there was lots of blood and “obvious signs of a fatal gunshot wound to the head.”
Richard told police his wife had been drinking excessively for the past 10 years and that she would say she wanted to “kill herself by shooting herself” when inebriated, according to the affidavit. When she would say this, he said, he would take her pistol and keep it until she was sober.
He claimed on the day of the incident, his wife had been drinking heavily and they got into an argument about it.
Richard told police that around 8:30 or 9 p.m., he went to bed and started “playing on his tablet,” while his wife sat at the desk.
He told police he heard a loud bang about 30 minutes later, saw that his wife had shot herself and checked for a pulse but found none.
But before making the 911 call, Richard called his daughter, as well as friends, neighbors and the victim’s primary care physician, according to the report.
Police found Richard had messaged about 15 people regarding Nanci’s death within 15 hours of reporting her alleged suicide.
According to authorities, “most of the people he messaged had little to no communication within his phone prior to the victim’s death.”
When police spoke to Nanci’s primary care physician, he confirmed she had been drinking excessively, but said he had prescribed her medication to help her stop and did not believe she had suicidal ideation, the report said.
Inconsistencies
Redding Police Chief Mark O’Donnell said the case began as an “untimely death investigation,” but was turned over to the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crimes Squad for further investigation because “some things didn’t make sense.”
Despite the temperature of the bedroom being between 70 and 75 degrees, according to police, the victim’s skin was “cold to the touch” by the time officers arrived.
At the scene, police said they found a pistol on the floor several feet away to the left of the victim, who they later confirmed was right-handed.
It also appeared to officers the chair she was in had been moved because “blood had pooled in two different locations with a trail between them,” according to the affidavit.
In the report, state police investigators also noted inconsistencies from the scene and what Richard told police — such as there being “no blood-like substance ... on the victim’s right or left hand, and no blood like substance was found on the pistol except for inside the barrel.”
DNA test results showed a mixture of the victim’s blood and a “male donor” on the pistol, as well as gunshot residue particles on both of Richard’s hands, according to the affidavit.
On May 20, state police received a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which ruled Nanci’s death a homicide.
Based on the facts and circumstances of the case, state police sought an arrest warrant charging Richard with murder.
Richard was arrested June 9, and arraigned at state Superior Court in Waterbury the following day.
At his arraignment, Richard’s attorney, Edward Gavin, said his client maintains his innocence and turned over all of his weapons and ammunition when requested by state police.
Richard has a plea hearing scheduled for June 30 at state Superior Court in Danbury.
Redding Police Chief Mark O’Donnell said the case began as an “untimely death investigation,” but was turned over to the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crimes Squad for further investigation because “some things didn’t make sense.”