Subscribe
79°
West Suffield ATV Racer Jonathan Hansen Dies After Crash; GoFundMe Raises Thousands
A well-known Connecticut ATV racer died after an ATV racing crash, leaving his family to face its second devastating loss in 15 months.
Jonathan Kyle Hansen, 44, of West Suffield, died from his injuries on Sunday, Aug. 16. He competed in the professional class of the QXNE racing series.
A GoFundMe created to help his family pay funeral costs and other expenses had raised more than $21,000 by Thursday evening, Aug. 20.
Hansen had a lifelong passion for racing, according to his obituary. His grandfather, Jerome Crawford, raced SCCA and Can-Am cars but died when Hansen was 2 years old.
Hans…
Willimantic Man Charged In 14-Year-Old Cold Case Killing In Chaplin: State
A Connecticut man has been charged in a fatal stabbing that remained unsolved for more than 14 years.
Matthew Vining, 43, of Willimantic, was arrested and charged in the death of Michael Mitchell, 42, also of Willimantic, authorities announced Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Mitchell was fatally stabbed inside a Chaplin home on or around Feb. 22, 2012.
Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin said investigators used DNA analysis, surveillance video, cell site information, and eyewitness accounts to identify Vining as a suspect.
The arrest followed a joint investigation involving state and…
Man Accused of Fatally Shooting Rival in Estranged Wife’s CT Home With Children Inside
A Connecticut man broke into his estranged wife’s home and fatally shot a man in a bedroom while two children were inside the house, Connecticut State Police allege.
Joshua Freitag, 33, of Somers, allegedly carried out the shooting Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, at a home on South Road, troopers said. He was charged with murder, home invasion, and two counts of risk of injury to a child. He was held on a $1.5 million bond.
Police responded to the South Road home about 4 a.m. after the woman reported gunfire and a disturbance.
When police arrived, they found Freitag near the front of the hous…
Molotov Cocktail Plot: Massachusetts Trans Woman Sentenced In Plan To Firebomb Scott Bessent
A Massachusetts woman will spend more than six years in federal prison after admitting to bringing two homemade firebombs and a knife to Washington, D.C., in an attempt to kill then-Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent, federal authorities said.
Ryan Michael English, 26, of South Deerfield, previously pleaded guilty to two federal weapons charges. A judge sentenced English to 73 months in prison on Tuesday, Aug. 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced. English must also serve three years of supervised release.
The plot unfolded on Jan. 27, 2025, when Bessen…
