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Fairfield County resident Jessica Thompson of Newtown, age 39, was arrested on Tuesday, July 16 in connection with a Litchfield County burglary reported in September 2023, Connecticut State Police announced on Wednesday, July 17.
According to a police affidavit, on Sept. 6, 2023, a trooper responded to a Cornwall home after a resident reported the theft of thousands of paintings, art, and antiques.
The resident reportedly told police that he had been away from home for around three weeks with contractors working at his home in the meantime. On Sept. 5, he received an email from them saying the back door had been left open and that people had gone through the residence.
The trooper then walked through the home and saw that it had been "ransacked" with books, antique paintings, and several other items scattered on the floor in nearly every room. Additionally, in one of the bedrooms, the trooper found a C4 energy drink can that had been left on a bookcase that was seized as evidence.
When interviewed, the resident told troopers that he estimated the items taken were estimated to be valued between $50,000 to $100,000. Among the items stolen included Native American and Japanese artifacts such as masks, pottery, statues, and roof tiles; Stihl electric chainsaws; a collection of Mad Magazines from the 1960s and 1970s; and framed paintings and prints, according to the affidavit.
Several days later, on Sept. 9, a ranger at Macedonia State Park in Kent found two abandoned Stihl electric chainsaws in a bathroom near a campsite. After the serial numbers were inspected, they were determined to belong to the victim from Cornwall.
The investigating trooper then arrived at the park and found out that one of the guests added to the campsite's reservations had been Thompson, who was later determined to have listed an antique tribal chest and other items for sale on an antique auction website in early December 2023, according to the affidavit.
The owners of the auction website told investigators that Thompson had claimed to come across the artifacts at an "estate sale," the affidavit said.
Meanwhile, as the investigation progressed, analysis of DNA taken from the energy drink left at the home came back as a female profile. This led to authorities obtaining a search warrant for Thompson's Newtown residence, which was executed on Friday, April 12. During the search, investigators asked Thompson about the chainsaws, and she claimed she had been working for someone who they belonged to, the affidavit said.
More than a month later, the DNA sample was confirmed to match a swab taken from Thompson during the search at her residence. This led to the issuing of an arrest warrant for Thompson which charged her with:
- Third-degree burglary;
- First-degree larceny.
Thompson was later released on a $5,000 bond and will appear in Torrington Superior Court on Tuesday, July 30.
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