Terryville, CT: Tragedy in Terryville

Friday, August 20, 2010 10:00 PM EDT
By Lisa Backus
Staff Writer

PLYMOUTH — A local businessman believed to have committed suicide inside his burning home was found dead as firefighters were battling a spectacular blaze at 170 E. Plymouth Road early Friday morning.

Police and firefighters are not confirming the identity of the person found dead, but neighbors believe it was James C. Ross, a 49-year-old long-time resident who had recently moved back into the home, the site of a former 1700s church, as he and his wife, Eileen, were divorcing.

“There were flames on the whole outside of the house,” said Mary Lou Alexsavich, who had lived across the street from the couple for two decades. “We didn’t know he was already gone.”

Court records indicate James Ross was arrested in October 2009 during an incident where he smashed items in the home, hit his son with a metal object and threatened to use one of his guns to harm himself. Police arrived to find his wife and son restraining him and the door to the room where the guns were stored nearly taken off the hinges, court papers said.

The criminal court issued a protective order barring Ross from injuring his family. His wife didn’t want to press charges and the case was closed leaving Ross without with a criminal record.

By January, Eileen Ross had filed for a restraining order and a divorce. She also sought a court order to have her husband barred from dealing with customers at their jointly owned business, Absolute Clarity and Calibration, LLC in Terryville on the grounds, she cited, “he has not and is not capable of conducting the affairs of the business.” She also cited concerns that he would alienate customers and “cause harm to the business.”

The couple had reached an agreement on the terms of the divorce July 26 which included Ross moving back into the East Plymouth address while his wife maintained a separate address with their son. The fire-damaged home had been put up for sale a few weeks ago, neighbors said.

Alexsavich, the key-holder to the Ross property, received a call from the Ross’ alarm company in the early morning hours Friday notifying her that the phone lines to the house appeared to have disintegrated. She looked outside and saw the garage, breezeway and balcony ablaze. “You could feel the heat,” she said. “It was scary but most of all it was sad.”

Alexsavich and Ann Pepin knew the family well and often watched the couple’s 16-year-old son, Ian, when he was a child. Ian would delightfully toss his sneakers over the balcony and loved to hide from his mother when she came to pick him up, the women recalled.

Neither knew much about the couple’s impending divorce but said the Ross family were good neighbors and nice people. They had owned the house, which had been a church built in the 1700s, for about 20 years.

“The last time we saw him, he was out by the mailbox and was happy as a lark,” Pepin said. “He received a shipment of his items yesterday, I don’t know if that triggered something. We have no idea what went wrong.”

Half of the elegant building was charred by Friday afternoon with the remains of the garage doors and dormer windows still standing although burnt black from the flames. The original structure with a quaint pink door and a wreath was left largely intact due to its sturdy 1700s construction, said Deputy Fire Chief Chris Masi.

Without fire hydrants in the area, firefighters had to bring in water from tankers provided by Thomaston, Harwinton and Northfield.

They found a body about 30 minutes into battling the blaze, Masi said. “There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered,” he said. “We found a lot of stuff out of the ordinary.”

The fire was still under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office and Plymouth police late Friday afternoon.