Hawleyville Excavation Update—

State Police Homicide

Investigation Progressing

By Andrew Gorosko

State police have made “some significant progress” in their investigation into the 1984 disappearance and presumed homicide of a Sherman woman based on their recent excavation of a residential backyard on Farrell Road in Hawleyville, plus other unspecified sources of information, a state police spokesman said this week.

“We’ve made some significant progress in the case,” state police spokesman Lieutenant J. Paul Vance said on November 6. The investigation is “active and ongoing,” he said. “The case is extremely active,” he added.

“We’ve made some good progress and we’re optimistic” about solving Ms Badaracco’s disappearance, he said.

Lt Vance acknowledged that during the course of their recent excavation in the backyard at 15 Farrell Road, which started during the week of September 17, state police uncovered several automobiles that had been buried there.

The lieutenant declined to describe the specific evidence that state police found which may prove useful in their investigation into Ms Badaracco’s disappearance. He described that evidence as “objects of interest.”

Armed with a search warrant, state police detectives had directed state workers to remove an estimated 500 cubic yards of sandy soil from the backyard in seeking investigatory clues. They spent several weeks at the site.

Lt Vance said that state police did not find Ms Bardaracco’s corpse or body parts during the excavation.

State police have said that the current residents of the home on the property are not subjects of the investigation.

State police restored the physical condition Farrell Road backyard after its excavation, Lt Vance said.

Investigators have spoken with a number of witnesses in the case who have provided them with useful information, he has said.

Ms Badaracco has been missing since August 1984 and is believed to be a homicide victim. She was last seen at her Sherman home, according to state police. The woman’s date of birth is March 11, 1946, so she was 38 when she was reported missing.

A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Ms Badaracco’s disappearance and/or homicide.

State police are encouraging the public to contact the state police’s Western District Major Crime Squad at Troop A in Southbury if they have information on the Badaracco case. The telephone number is 800-376-1554.