New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘A terrible family tragedy’
Police ID 2 brothers found dead in home
NORTH HAVEN — Police Monday identified two brothers found dead with gunshot wounds in a Primrose Street home.
Darrell Chapnick, 67, and Randall Chapnick, 72, were found dead at Darrell
Chapnick’s home, Chief of Police Kevin Glenn said in an email.
“We believe an argument took place over the estate of (their) recently deceased mother,” he said in the email.
Officials have not said which brother they suspect was the perpetrator. Glenn did not provide further details.
Police had said Sunday in a Facebook post that “At this time, it is believed to be a murder/suicide.”
Randall Chapnick was an attorney whose Chapel Street law office overlooks the New Haven Green.
The Chapnicks’ mother, Angela Chapnick, had been living in the Primrose Street home when she died in February, according to Connecticut Probate Court filings. Her will, signed in 2000, left equal shares of her estate to each brother and designated Randall Chapnick
executor.
The court granted Randall Chapnick administration of the estate on Aug. 3, according to the filings. They show that Darrell Chapnick obtained a lawyer, Christopher Goulden, who on Aug. 18 filed an appearance on behalf of his client.
Goulden declined comment Monday.
Randall Chapnick’s attorney Robert Heinimann, a partner with the Hamden-based firm R. Eugene Torrenti LLC, also declined to comment on the legal matter.
But he said he had been friends with Randall Chapnick.
“Randy was a very dear friend and he was also a
“It’s just so sad, it’s so sad to have a family just destroyed like that, outta nowhere.” Janet Parkosewich, Primrose Street resident
loving husband to his wife, Mimi,” Heinimann said. “It’s very unfortunate . ... my thoughts and prayers are with her.”
Residents in Darrell Chapnick’s neighborhood visited each other’s homes Monday to comfort each other in the wake of the tragedy.
“We’re all pretty much in a state of shock,” said Primrose Street resident Janet Parkosewich. “It’s just a tragedy.”
She heard someone calling for help Sunday evening, she said, and rushed over to Darrell Chapnick’s home thinking there was a medical emergency of some kind. But when she arrived she found the two brothers , she said.
Parkosewich said she is a nurse and was able to keep calm as the events unfolded.
But on Monday, the tragedy was beginning to sink in.
“It’s just so sad, it’s so sad to have a family just destroyed like that, outta nowhere,” she said.
First Selectman Michael Freda expressed his sadness regarding the incident in a statement. There is believed to be no threat to the public, he noted.
“This was a terrible family tragedy that involved some form of family dispute,” said Freda.
“I am very saddened because I knew the resident but I can assure our community, and the residents in that area, that there is no threat or imminent danger to anyone else as a result of this family incident and tragic outcome as a result of that dispute,” Freda said.