Cause of death still unknown for missing Danbury woman
DANBURY — Police closed their investigation into a missing local woman whose remains were found in a wooded area in Patterson, N.Y., without determining a cause of death, according to newly released documents.
The police records — obtained almost two years after her remains were found — show the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and New York State Police not only closed their investigations into the death of LaelCira DeLima just over two weeks after the February 2020 discovery, but did so absent any conclusive findings regarding her death or disappearance.
There have been no arrests or official determinations made about what happened to the 53-year-old who went missing more than four years ago.
The Putnam County Coroner’s Office did not return a request for information regarding the findings of DeLima’s death, and no such information was mentioned in the investigation reports from the Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department or New York State Police.
DeLima was last seen Oct. 20, 2017, when she left her Danbury home and told her children to lock the door behind her, police said at the time. DeLima had said she was going to the Walmart in Danbury, but she never returned home.
Her 2016 Honda Accord was found weeks later abandoned in the parking lot of the Putnam Diner in Patterson, N.Y.
Authorities from the Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department, New York State Police and Danbury Police Department responded to the parking lot on Nov. 7, 2017, after the diner owners reported a car with Connecticut plates had not moved from its spot for about two weeks and the plate number traced back to a missing person out of Danbury.
Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed the Honda Accord entering the diner parking lot around 6 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2017, according to a New York State Police investigation report, but investigators were “unable to observe anyone leave the parking lot” due to the camera’s distance.
The report states that surveillance footage from Putnam Diner was secured as well but it does not say what, if anything, it showed.
New York State Police said there were “no apparent signs of any suspicious activity” at the scene and an extensive search of the area was conducted with drones and police K-9s, but nothing was found.
According to a New York State Police investigation report, K-9s were “unable to pick up a scent due to the time that had elapsed” since the vehicle was left in the parking lot.
The report also states that DeLima had a friend residing in the nearby town of Pawling who Danbury police “had previously suspected of picking (her) up” — but “no one was home” when Danbury and New York investigators went to interview the individual.
The Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department and Danbury Police Department have not returned requests for further comment on the DeLima case.
Two more searches were conducted in May 2018 — one involving drone and helicopter flyovers on May 2, followed by an on-the-ground search with K-9s, New York State troopers, detectives and forest rangers on May 8 — both of which yielded negative results, according to the report.
Then, on Feb. 1, 2020 — more than two years after DeLima went missing — a 35-year-old New York man spotted what turned out to be her skeletal remains while scouting an area for hunting behind the diner.
According to Putnam County investigators, a human skull was located approximately a quarter-mile behind the diner and more evidence — a sneaker, jet black hair and a dark-colored jacket containing skeletal remains — was found within a 10-yard radius of the skull.
The remains were confirmed to be DeLima’s through dental record identification and turned over to the Danbury Memorial Funeral Home on Feb. 14, 2020, according to Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department records.
The Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department reported no evidence of foul play, and Danbury Police Detective Lt. Mark Williams said the case was turned over to New York investigators, with Danbury police providing assistance as needed.
There’s been no explanation as to why nothing was found during the 2017 and 2018 searches of the area behind Putnam Diner.
On Feb. 13, 2020, a spokesperson from the Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department said the agency was waiting for the coroner to identify the cause of DeLima’s death.
Six days later, the investigation into DeLima’s death was marked closed by both the Putnam County Sheriff ’s Department and New York State Police.
It’s unclear if a cause or manner of death was ever determined.