Wolcott, CT: Police: Husband killed wife he reported missing

Police to resume search today for Wolcott woman's body
BY LAURESHA XHIHANI | REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN


Police tape surrounds the Cannon home at 207 Spindle Hill Road in Wolcott on Sunday as Wolcott and state police investigate the disappearance of Cynthia Cannon, who police say was murdered by her husband, Patrick. Jim Shannon/RA


WOLCOTT -- Two days after he reported her missing, police late Sunday charged Patrick Cannon with his wife's murder.

Cannon, 44, was held overnight on a $3 million bond, and will be arraigned this morning at Waterbury Superior Court in the death of his wife, Cynthia.

Police believe the 35-year-old mother of two was murdered last week. Investigators spent all day Sunday looking for her body in a heavily wooded area behind a graveyard on Cemetery Road in Waterbury. They had not located her body as of early today.

Police early Sunday found Cynthia Cannon's Jeep Liberty on Cemetery Road, just a few miles from the family's 207 Spindle Hill Road.

Investigators also found a bloody sleeping bag on Woodtick Road next to the Scoville Reservoir. Acting Police Chief Neil O'Leary said friends identified the sleeping bag as the one Cynthia Cannon used during a recent Girl Scout camping trip. Police also found nylon rope and other evidence in the Cannon home, and in Cynthia Cannon's SUV.

"There is no doubt Cynthia Cannon has been the victim of a homicide. This is a very tragic incident. We all feel very badly," O'Leary said.

Cynthia Cannon, who originally is from the Danbury area, was reported missing by her husband Friday night. She had not been heard of or seen since Thursday evening, and there was no evidence that she used her cell phone.

Patrick Cannon told police his wife had gone to drop off clothes at a Goodwill box around 10:30 p.m. Thursday. When he woke up on Friday and she wasn't home he assumed she was at work, he told police.

Her friends and co-workers at Control Systems in West Hartford became worried because Cynthia Cannon is in constant contact with them and never misses work. She did not show up to work on Friday.

O'Leary said a witness saw Patrick Cannon walking on Spindle Hill Road on Friday morning between 9:30 and 10 a.m. The witness said he had mud in his boots and on his clothing.

Four state police dogs and dozens of officers searched an area dense with brush on Cemetery Road in Waterbury on Sunday, Mother's Day. O'Leary said the search, interrupted only by night fall, would resume this morning.

Patrick Cannon, who used to live in the New Britain area, was being represented by an attorney from the public defender's office in Waterbury. He did not speak to police under the advice of his attorney. Police were waiting for a warrant to search his body for evidence, including DNA and any signs of struggle wounds.

O'Leary said the couple was struggling. The Cannons were facing foreclosure on their home, and were headed for divorce. O'Leary said Patrick Cannon, a computer systems sales and service provider, had been out of work, and was struggling to find other employment.

To read the complete story see Monday's Republican-American or our electronic edition at http://republicanamerican.ct.newsmemory.com.