By Stephen P. Clark
The Stamford Advocate
Read News Report: Conn. officer fatally shot checking suspicious activity
NORWALK, Conn. — The investigation into last week’s fatal shooting of Norwalk Police Officer Matthew Morelli has led to several theories, including suicide or an accident, police said yesterday.
Evidence from the parking lot of the South Norwalk church where Morelli was found will be examined this morning by the State Police Forensic Science Laboratory, Lt. Paul Resnick said.
Norwalk police plan to meet with forensic experts tomorrow and will hold a news conference that afternoon or Wednesday morning, Resnick said.
“Nothing has been ruled out,” Resnick said. “All options are on the table, and we are looking to gain knowledge from the evidence at the scene.”
Resnick would not say whether police still were searching for a suspect. There is no suspect description, he said.
“This is not a 60-minute TV show,” he said. “We don’t always know the answers inside an hour.”
Norwalk police released tentative funeral arrangements for Morelli. A wake will be held Wednesday evening at Collins Funeral Home at 92 East Ave. The funeral will be Thursday morning at St. Matthew’s Church at 216 Scribner Ave., and Morelli will be buried later that morning at St. John’s Cemetery at 223 Richards Ave. Times for the services had not been set.
Morelli, 38, was found fatally shot in the parking lot of The Calvin Reformed Church on Lexington Avenue, which backs up to Lubrano Place, at about 12:30 a.m. Friday, shortly after he called headquarters to say he was checking suspicious activity and stepped out of his vehicle.
He then made a brief call to dispatch before his radio went dead. Police have not released details of that last call.
Officers rushed to the scene and, less than one minute later, found Morelli shot with a rifle - described by police as an AK-47 or older military-style rifle. The weapon was found next to or under Morelli’s body.
The chief medical examiner’s office pronounced Morelli dead at the scene and transported his body Friday afternoon to Farmington for a full autopsy. The office said Saturday that results on the manner of death were pending until more studies were completed, which could take six to 10 weeks.
Sources close to the investigation say Morelli was shot in the head, but police officially have declined to confirm where he was shot, how many times and whether his service revolver had been fired or drawn.
Morelli’s death triggered a citywide manhunt involving the FBI, the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad and police departments from Stamford and neighboring towns. Helicopters equipped with infrared imaging from police departments in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y., assisted in the search for a suspect early Friday.
Resnick has since said that residents should not consider themselves in danger.
An 11-year veteran, Morelli grew up in Weston with his two older brothers, Dan and Brian, and their parents, Denis and Roberta, who still live there. Morelli served four years in the Marines, including a tour in the Gulf War, and on the Weston Volunteer Fire Department and the Weston Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Department before joining the Norwalk Police Department.
His ex-wife and daughter live in Australia.
Morelli is the fifth city police officer to die in the line of duty.
Copyright 2008 The Stamford Advocate