Dark Downeast - The Murder of Jimmy Stone (Connecticut)

Episode Date: September 11, 2023

CONNECTICUT, 2018: On the night of May 18, 2018, 36-year old James “Jimmy” Stone Jr. was loading up his belongings from the trailer where he once lived on the Golden Hill Paugussett Reservation in Colchester, Connecticut to take them to his new apartment. Somehow, the mundane task of packing and moving became a deadly one. Jimmy never made it off the reservation alive.The investigation into the murder of Jimmy Stone is ongoing, and though Connecticut State Police continue to work diligently on his case, crucial details that could clear the fog over what happened on that remote stretch of road through a private, rural community still evade them.Jimmy’s family, including his sister Jenny Stone, are hopeful that somebody will come forward with the critical information that could piece together the events of that fateful night. Jenny is on Dark Downeast to share her big brother’s story. It’s the story of a man who triumphed over so much in his life only to have it end at the hands of a still unknown killer.Connecticut State Police have announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the death of Jimmy Stone. Anyone with information is asked to contact state police at [e-mail], or call 860-465-5456. View source material and photos for this episode at darkdowneast.com/jimmystone Dark Downeast is an audiochuck and Kylie Media production hosted by Kylie Low.Follow @darkdowneast on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTokTo suggest a case visit darkdowneast.com/submit-case

On the night of May 18, 2018, 36-year-old James Jimmy Stone Jr. was loading up his belongings from the trailer where he once lived on the Golden Hill Pugasset Reservation in Colchester, Connecticut. He was moving everything to his new apartment, but somehow the mundane task of packing and moving became a deadly one. Jimmy never made it off the reservation alive. The investigation into the murder of Jimmy Stone is ongoing, and though Connecticut State Police continue to work diligently on his case, crucial details that could clear the fog over what happened on that remote stretch of road through a private, rural community still

evade them. Jimmy's family, including his sister, Jenny Stone, are hopeful that somebody will come forward with the critical information that could piece together the events of that fateful night. Jenny is on Dark Down East to share her brother's story. It's the story of a man who triumphed over so much in his life, only to have it end at the hands of a still unknown killer. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is The Unsolved Case of Jimmy Stone on Dark Down East. James Stone was born September 11th, 1981, and named after his father, but everyone called him Jimmy. The Stones are an extremely close-knit family. This wasn't a family who only got together on holidays and occasionally called to check in on each other.

Even after Jimmy and his sister Jenny grew up and flew the coop, they were very much involved in each other's lives. Whether it was a holiday or just a regular weekday night, they loved spending time together and talked every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. That closeness was always there, Jenny told me, but their relationship as kids had a pretty typical brother-sister dynamic. I think it evolved throughout the years definitely. I was definitely the younger annoying sister that always wanted to hang out with him and his friends. He looked out for her and made sure she was on the right path. I remember when I got my first speeding ticket I told him and he grabbed me by the arm and marched me right into the living room and said, tell mom what you just told me. So he kind of paved the way for me in a lot of ways. And at the same time led me down the right path. As we got older and he moved on to

college, I went, I would go to college and visit him when he was there. He initially started at the University of Vermont. He was a Spanish and math major. He was working at the Department of Immigration doing translations when he was in college. So I headed up to campus a couple times and hung out with him and his friends. We went snowboarding. He loved to snowboard, so we would go to Stowe during the winter and snowboard. Jimmy was there through every stage of Jenny's life. And once she became a mother, Jimmy stepped into the role of uncle beautifully. Once I had kids, he, again, was right in there with us.

He would stop over, check on my oldest daughter, Molly, hang right in there with us. You know, he would stop over, check on my oldest daughter, Molly, hang out and play with her. He was always trying to coordinate family events for us, you know, whether it was bowling or get-together. The closeness that the Stone family shared became a safety net for Jimmy when in college, something started to change. Jimmy was having a hard time keeping up with his classwork, and his appearance was different. His mood changed. He was a sophomore in college at the University of Vermont,

and he had been living off campus with roommates that he had met during his freshman year there, and they actually called my mom and had said that, you know, he wasn't really doing that well. He had been missing classes, which was not like him at all. He was always a high honors, very studious person. He had started missing work a lot. So that kind of, they alerted us that something was not right. Thankfully, Jimmy's support system was attuned to the changes, and his family was there to help Jimmy figure out what was going on and seek the treatment he needed. Jimmy was diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, and for him, he suffered from auditory and visual hallucinations. He did take medication to help with that. A lot of the things that came along with that were paranoid delusions that he felt

were happening. The most important thing to realize when someone is diagnosed with schizophrenia is that the things that are happening in their lives or that they think are happening are as real to them as everyday life is as real to you and I. So a hallucination that he might have seen clear as day, that is what is happening is in his mind. Jenny was transparent about the impact of Jimmy's diagnosis on her family. It created a lot of stress. They wanted him to get the care he needed so he could get back on his feet. But finding what worked for Jimmy was a tough road. Sometimes the medication caused unpleasant side effects that made him less inclined to take it. At times,

Jimmy needed to be hospitalized. Jenny told me that in the end, though, helping Jimmy through it all brought their family closer together. I remember my brother wrote me a card after one of his hospitalizations, just apologizing for the things that he had said, you know, when he wasn't at his best. And it was so important to me just to tell him that, you know, those times as a family, we never held against him. As difficult as they were, our family fought for him to be well. And he knew that in the end when he was well and he was doing his best, he could reflect on that and knew that, you know, any conflict or any struggles that we all had together, we were doing for him. Jimmy did get back on his feet. And though his mental health was a factor in his life every single day, Jimmy was on a great path. So he was living with schizophrenia, you know, and suffering with some of those unpleasant side effects, but was able to, you know, kind of push through his bad days and still function.

For about six years, beginning in 2011 or 2012, Jimmy was living and working in the Colchester, Connecticut area. He had purchased a mobile home and put it on a plot at the Golden Hill-Pugusset Reservation. The Golden Hill-Pugusset people have a long history dating much further back than the written history of them. They inhabited a unique and fertile coastal region in what is now known as the Greater Bridgeport, Connecticut area, known for its abundance of seafood and wildlife and fertile land for farming. However, European exploration and settlement in the 16th century brought diseases and coercion

and conflict to the native population. According to an article covering the history of the tribe written by Charles Brillvich for the Bridgeport Public Library, the Pugusett people were gradually pushed off their lands, and a small reservation was established in 1639. Over the years, encroachment and harassment continued, reducing the reservation to a mere 80 acres by 1680. After the Revolutionary War, a man named Aaron Hawley initially advocated for the Golden Hill people, but later sold off the

last of their reservation lands to settle his own debts. This marked a turning point for the tribe, and many historians began to overlook their story. Despite adversity, the Pugusset people adapted and continued their cultural traditions. In the early 19th century, Joel Freeman played a crucial role in uniting and revitalizing the tribe in Bridgeport's South End. He also worked to secure a place of worship for the tribe. Later, William Sherman, who succeeded Freeman, became a prominent leader who preserved and promoted Native culture. He interacted with various members of the tribe, maintained records of their activities, and fought for their rights.

He was able to establish a small piece of land as a reservation for the Golden Hill Pugusset people, but at just a quarter of an acre, the size of an average house lot, it provided no real space for the tribe to live. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the tribe's leadership remained intact, with descendants of William Sherman taking up the mantle. The tribe sought federal recognition in 1982 under Chief Big Eagle, but the process proved challenging, even though other Connecticut tribes received recognition more easily due to changes in gaming regulations.

Though federal recognition remained elusive during this time, Chief Big Eagle was able to establish a second reservation for the Golden Hill Pugasset people in 1981, much larger than the first at 108 acres. It was in the town of Colchester, Connecticut. This land would be where Jimmy Stone secured a plot and placed his mobile home. In most scenarios, residency on the reservation is exclusively for tribal members and their families. However, Jimmy developed a strong relationship with many of the tribe's members and became part of their community. My brother and I actually went to school with some of the tribal members. And then Jimmy became close to them because the princess of the tribe, Julia,

she didn't have a car. So she actually used to walk back and forth to town for everything. And whenever Jimmy would see her, he would offer her a ride. So they kind of built a relationship around that. And then when it came time that Jimmy was looking for new housing, they offered him a plot to rent on the reservation.

So you don't necessarily have to be tribal, but you can't just like you can't just walk onto the reservation and say, hey, I want to live here. You kind of have to be in their circle of people. That circle of people included the leadership of the Pugassett Reservation, the Piper family, Chief Kicking Bear Piper, who also goes by the name Kwan, his wife, and their three children. Kwan was also Jimmy's employer. Jimmy worked in his construction business. He was working actually as like a handyman contractor for Kwan, who is the chief on the reservation. He had had it, Kwan had his own business where they did a variety of things from, you know, stonework to sheet rockinging to framing houses. So he, at that point, had been working for Kwan, doing that for several years, and then was kind of shifting towards finding his

own work in that field. Outside of his family life, which was still as close-knit as ever, Jimmy was very much immersed in the community of the Golden Hill Pugusset Reservation. In 2018, Chief Kicking Bear Piper told WFSB that Jimmy, was considered part of the tribe because he was so integral in helping and watching the land. End quote. The group of individuals allowed on this reservation is a very close-knit group of people

that Jimmy was a part of. He was very active with the reservation. He participated in their drum circle. It wasn't a type of situation where he lived there and went off and did his own thing. He was kind of immersed in the reservation as far as working with these individuals, you know, living on the property, extracurricular activities, like I said, as far as the drum circle, he was a part of. But sometime in late 2017,

Jimmy decided it was time to make some changes. He'd been working towards going out on his own in construction and had also started looking for a new living situation. It's kind of a conflicting story as to why he moved off the reservation. I know he was trying to improve his life. I know that there had been some water damage to his trailer that was there and there were some mold issues. I also know that there were issues on the reservation that he was trying to get away from. That's what Jimmy told

their mother, Bambi, but to Jenny's knowledge, Jimmy never elaborated on what those things were that made him want to move off the reservation. More than anything, Jenny understood that the motivation for her big brother to find a new apartment was all about being closer to family want to move off the reservation. More than anything, Jenny understood that the motivation for her big brother to find a new apartment was all about being closer to family and having stability. And I think he was just ready for something more stable. You know, living in a trailer, there were times when he had heating issues, water issues, things like that. He had found a really nice apartment in Colchester that was closer in proximity to myself and the kids. So I think he was just looking forward to kind of moving on and starting something better.

Though he technically moved out about six months prior, Jimmy still owned the trailer on the Golden Hill Pugusset Reservation, and his belongings were still inside as of May 2018. In order to return to the trailer and retrieve the rest of his property, Jimmy needed permission to be on the reservation, and he was granted access on Friday, May 18, 2018. So as far as we know for the timeline, my uncle had been helping him move that entire day. My brother had dropped my uncle back off at his vehicle, so they had split up. And then my brother returned to the reservation that afternoon and evening to finish moving some of his items. The trailer had sat vacant since Jimmy moved into his new apartment. Because of the previous water damage,

it wasn't a suitable place to live, and it's not like he could have rented it out anyway. Residency on the reservation was by permission only. Jenny wasn't sure what the plan was after the trailer was emptied out. Maybe he would have left it there, or maybe he would have had to remove it from the plot, but in any case, that day was just about getting his things. So him going back onto the reservation to retrieve his property, he had been granted permission to do that. So they were

well aware that he was on the reservation during that time frame. While he was moving, it has been told to us that there was an argument between my brother and the chief. I don't know what that argument was about. And then shortly after that was when he was murdered. I received the notification. It was the 19th. I got a text message from my mom that said, call me ASAP. And I called her back and she said they found Jimmy. And the first thing I thought of was like, I didn't know he was like missing. Like, what are you talking? I was so confused.

And then for her to say that they had found him, I thought that maybe something had happened. He had gotten injured or there, maybe he slipped and fell in his head or there had been some type of accident. Never in a million years would I have thought that this is how he would leave us. Jimmy's parents rushed to the trailer on the Golden Hill Pugasset Reservation. They got very little information at first. And of course, when this stuff happens, they don't tell you. You know, my parents went to the reservation as they were processing the scene. They don't give you any information. They just said it was trauma. So now, you know, our heads are really spinning. And I was pretty sure that he had, I told my mom, I said, Mom, I said,

he could have slipped and fallen and hit his head. And, you know, we don't know. Of all the possible scenarios spinning in her head, and regardless of the mental health challenges her brother faced on a daily basis, there was one scenario that Jenny never considered, even for a second. I knew for a fact he would not have taken his own life. There's absolutely no way. He loved life to the point that that was never even an option that crossed my mind. So I thought for sure it had to have been, you know, just one of those things where you, you, something happens, you get hurt and, you know, that's it.

And for it to end the way it did, I, I honestly, I still can't believe it. First responders arrived at 95 Stanovich Road to find Jimmy Stone's body in his former residence on the reservation. The earliest news reports said only that Connecticut State Police were calling Jimmy's death suspicious. It wasn't until a few days later that the office of the medical examiner revealed his cause and manner of death, homicide. Jimmy had two gunshot wounds, one to his chest and another to his leg. Detectives from the Eastern District Major Crime Unit told WFSB that there was no threat to the public at the time, but authorities did not have a suspect, and they were tight-lipped regarding the earliest investigative efforts. So as far as what's been done so far, the detectives working the case only disclose certain things to us. I would say it's been limited what information we've been given

just to kind of protect any potential witnesses and any information that they don't want compromised at this point because it's still open. Obviously for a murder investigation, they processed the scene. There were many interviews done as far as possible witnesses or people who were associated with my brother. Evidence was analyzed at the lab. Specimen collection. Like typical, how do I not make this sound morbid, but like anything that you typically do, like processing a body. Investigators canvassed the surrounding residences

in search of any security camera footage that might give them any leads to work from. But as far as what they've disclosed publicly, there is no tape from the reservation itself. However, detectives did obtain surveillance footage from another location that gave them clues as to Jimmy's movements before he was on the Golden Hill Pugusset property. State police also zeroed in on Jimmy's cell phone.

They did obtain a search warrant for his cell phone, which I know that they continuously are reprocessing. As new tech becomes available, they'll submit a new search warrant and rerun the cell phone. What they've learned from the cell phone, though, remains a confidential part of the investigation. We haven't been given any specifics as far as if calls were made, text messages, or if he received any phone calls. The only thing that they've told us is that they're continuously processing cell phone evidence when that new tech becomes available. And they're still going through a lot of the data that they've gotten off the cell phone. I have to wonder if the cell phone, given how much attention it's getting from investigators, might be key to learning more about that night.

Was Jimmy talking to or texting someone who he later saw on the reservation or at his trailer? Could it possibly narrow down who was there or who he interacted with that day? Maybe it would shed light on the alleged argument Jimmy got into with the chief. But I could go around and around with maybes and what-ifs and questions in this case ad nauseum because at the end of the day, there are a number of unknowns on top of the myriad challenges facing the investigation. Not least of all, the rural, secluded location of where Jimmy was shot.

I think one of the main challenges in the case is the location of where Jimmy was murdered. It's a very rural area. The road that the reservation is on is not well traveled as far aside from the residents of that street, I would say. It's not a road that you would use to like cut through here, cut through there, get, you know, it's kind of off on the outskirts of Colchester. So there's really no reason to go down that road unless you're living there or you're visiting someone. The rural location of Jimmy's trailer, the scene of the murder, raises another question for me. Who found Jimmy? Who called 911? Who got

emergency crews there? When I asked Jenny these questions, she told me via email that they do know who found Jimmy and who dialed 911. However, requests for a copy of the 911 call by Freedom of Information Act were denied. This piece of evidence can't be publicly disclosed to protect the ongoing investigation. So there's that. Another challenge in the case is that investigators haven't been able to definitively determine a motive. That's one thing said the detectives told us, that this case has no motive. It wasn't gang related. It wasn't motivated by a relationship as far as like a significant other. It did not involve drugs.

Usually those are like the top three. You know, what caused this to happen? And that's the one thing that they've told us consistently is that they've never been able to find a motive. With no motive, it's even more challenging to identify a possible suspect or to identify a suspect with enough evidence against them to secure an arrest. In March of 2021, investigators said that they had not been able to establish probable cause in the case. But that doesn't mean police don't have anyone they're taking a closer look at. Jenny spoke to the lead investigator on her brother's case, Detective David Bennett, before her interview with me

because she wanted to make sure that any information she shared was both accurate and appropriate to share publicly. When I asked her about persons of interest or suspects in the case, Jenny reviewed her notes from her conversation with Detective Bennett and told me this. So as far as persons of interest or any suspects, the detectives have told us that, you know, Jimmy had that small circle of friends and associates on the reservation and that they have not been able to move off of that circle of people. In May of 2018, WFSB reported that Chief Kicking Bear Piper said the tribe was in Massachusetts for a ceremony on May 18th, the day of Jimmy's murder. And so,

according to him, Jimmy was expected to be the only person on reservation property. Clearly, that wasn't the case, though. Someone else was on the property because someone shot Jimmy, whether that person was expected to be there and had permission to be there or not. After Jimmy's death and as the investigation began, Jenny found herself looking over her shoulder, wondering if she was safe, if her children were safe, living in the same town where her brother's killer might still be walking around. Initially, after it happened, I was very fearful because we didn't have a lot of information. I had a really hard time going out in public. I found myself, you know, at public events downtown on the green, just kind of looking around wondering, like, did they do it? Did they like, you know, you don't know who you're surrounded by. And at that point, you know, the detectives were were very tight lipped and rightfully so because it was a fresh investigation. So there was a lot of fear. The loss continues to impact her in different ways.

With each new piece of information in the case, Jenny is thrust right back to the day she found out her big brother was gone. Not only does she manage her own grief and trauma, but as a mother, Jenny has had to find a way to help her children understand what happened to Uncle Jimmy. My oldest daughter knows what happened. She found out about a year ago. We had initially kept, she was seven when he was murdered. So we had kept that information from her, you know, the cause of death and everything and the specifics of it. She unfortunately stumbled onto the reward for information poster last summer. So with that were questions that we answered, honestly, at that point, she was 11. I mean, Molly lost her best friend.

And I think she's kind of just coming to terms with that because it's like regrieving. It's like every time we get new information, you have to grieve all over. And for her, she went for, you know, four years not knowing what the cause of death was or the circumstances. And now that she knows it's, she's just really starting to grieve all over again with that new information. That's the thing that makes it difficult too, is that every time we get another piece to this puzzle, it does, it kind of throws you right back to the beginning to start this whole grieving process over again. It's just like ripping open a wound constantly. As for the community on the Golden Hill Pugasset Reservation, Jimmy's murder appeared to impact them as well. On May 24, 2018, the Facebook page for the reservation shared a link

to Jimmy's obituary, with the text, A Great Friend of the Tribe. According to reporting by WFSB, the tribe held their own memorial for Jimmy. In that same report by WFSB, Chief Piper expressed his confusion about what happened to Jimmy. Quote, I just couldn't figure out why this would happen to this individual. That's where the mystery lies. We don't know what transpired in those few days after we saw him. Why did he end up deceased, and what was the cause? End quote. The investigation into Jimmy Stone's murder is ongoing, and while Jenny has become the voice of her family for matters relating to her brother's case, she's careful about what she says and how loud she says it,

regardless of what she really thinks and feels. There's a lot of things that I wish I could say, but being an open investigation, it makes it difficult. And being a mom of two kids living in the same town he was murdered in also makes it difficult. Jenny will always remember Jimmy as her determined, hardworking, steadfast brother. He was always looking for the next step. Like, what could he do to make this situation better? Whether it was like finishing his college degree.

I mean, I cannot tell you how many times he went back to school. Obviously, some of his schooling was affected by his illness, but he did not stop until he obtained his degree. Whether it was one class at a time or enrolling full-time, he did not stop until he got that degree. She was and is so proud of everything he was able to accomplish in the face of adversity. Watching my brother go through life in his young adulthood and seeing the struggles that he went through, the fight that he had in him to overcome what he was going through. I mean, to say he had strength and courage is an understatement.

And he never made a big deal out of it. It was never, look at me, look what I've done. It was always just, yeah, I did it. You know, he was, he never bragged about anything. He was always very, I'd say kind of quiet or reserved when it came to his accomplishments. But just the fact that he always had a next step was always thinking ahead. What's the next thing I can do to make my life better? better. I would say as a family, we definitely will remember him for the work that he put in to overcome the obstacles that he faced in his life

and never stopping to maintain some type of independence. This wasn't a situation where he just laid back and, you know, oh, this is my life. People are going to take care of me. He was like, absolutely not. I'm going to stand up and I'm going to fight and I'm going to take care of myself. Even though he knew we were there for him and we would do anything for him, he always wanted to do it on his own. No matter how much time has passed, the weight of the loss is the same. It will never make sense to Jenny. I know it's been, and I get this a lot, people are like, you know, it's been five years. But honestly, like, I still can't believe it. And part of it is, you know, our, our fight to give Jimmy a good life as a family and then

having it come to this kind of an end. I honestly would have never expected this outcome. Never in a million years would I have thought that this would be it. It's shocking. It's really shocking. And to think that we live in a small town, someone in this town knows what happened. Absolutely. Someone in this town knows, and they are not coming forward with that information. Connecticut State Police have announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the death of Jimmy Stone. Anyone with information is asked to contact state police at david.bennett at ct.gov or call 860-465-5456.

Thank you for listening to Dark Down East. Sources cited and referenced for this episode are listed at darkdowneast.com. Please follow Dark Down East on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening right now. If you have a personal connection to a case and you want me to cover it on this podcast, please contact me at hello at darkdowneast.com. Thank you for supporting this show and allowing me to do what I do. I'm honored to use this platform for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones,

and for those who are still searching for answers in cold missing persons and homicide cases. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm Kylie Lowe, and this is Dark Down East.