Two Charges Added—

Heath Murder Prosecution Continued To November

By Andrew Gorosko

DANBURY — On September 7 in Danbury Superior Court, the state’s murder prosecution of John Sherman Heath, 69, of Bridgewater was continued by a judge until November 28.

The court continuance was disclosed after the state’s prosecutor and Mr Heath’s special public defender had held a closed-door supervised pretrial conference with Judge John F. Blawie.

In May, Mr Heath pleaded not guilty to murder in the April 1984 death of his wife, Elizabeth Gough Heath, 32, whose skeletal remains were discovered in April 2010 hidden beneath the floor of a barn at 89 Poverty Hollow Road in Newtown, at a property where the Heaths had formerly lived.

In July, following a probable cause hearing, Judge Blawie ruled that the state had presented sufficient evidence to require Mr Heath to stand trial for murder.

State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III said September 7 that more criminal case planning would occur when the Heath case comes back to court on November 28.

No tentative date for a trial of the case has been set, the prosecutor said.

Attorney Francis L. O’Reilly, who represents Mr Heath, said he is seeking to start a trial of the case in January. Mr O’Reilly has said that he wants to expedite the jury trial.

In response to the state’s allegations, Mr O’Reilly has said the state lacks evidence and is basing its case on “speculation and conjecture.”

Mr Heath is being held prisoner on $1,002,500 bail at Bridgeport Correctional Center while awaiting trial.

Mr Heath’s bail on the murder charge is $1 million.

However, that bail was increased by $2,500 last week following an alleged violent incident on September 5 at the Bridgeport jail after which state police lodged two additional criminal charges against Mr Heath,

At about 6:30 pm on September 5 at the prison, Mr Heath allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old female nurse, state police said. Neither the nurse nor Mr Heath were injured in the incident, according to state police.

Mr Heath has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He uses a cannula to breath bottled oxygen.

State police arrested Mr Heath on charges of second-degree breach of peace and third-degree assault in connection with the prison incident.

Mr Heath was arraigned on those two charges on September 6 in Bridgeport Superior Court, where he is scheduled to return on October 18 to enter pleas to those charges.