Ruled Suicide—

Missing Man’s Corpse Found In Lake Lillinonah

SOUTHBURY — A pair of anglers fishing at Lake Lillinonah in Southbury on April 11 discovered the waterborne corpse of a Southbury man who had been missing for two months, according to state police.

State police spokesman Sergeant J. Paul Vance said on April 21 that the pair who were fishing at about 11:30 am on April 11, discovered the body of Paul Schoonmaker, 47, in the lake. The lake is an impoundment of the Housatonic River located behind Shepaug Dam.

State police went to the scene to investigate, as did an agent of the state medical examiner’s office.

Mr Schoonmaker’s recovered body was transported to the Chief State Medical Examiner’s Office in Farmington where an autopsy was performed. The autopsy indicated that the death was a suicide by drowning, a spokeswoman said.

Sgt Vance said the state police investigation indicated that no criminality was involved in the death.

Mr Schoonmaker, who was a carpenter, had lived in Newtown until several years ago. He was a Newtown High School graduate.

Mr Schoonmaker had been missing since the morning of February 11. State police located his  vehicle on February 12 at George Waldo State Park in Southbury, near Lake Lillinonah.

State police dog teams searched the state park several times for Mr Schoonmaker, without success. The state police helicopter was used in the searches.

State police received search assistance from officers from the Department of Environmental Protection, who covered the park using snowmobiles and ATVs, and from members of Southbury Volunteer Fire Company.