Latest news with #TurnerSyndrome
Globe and Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Get To Know Eden Wilson The Actress That Defied The Odds
"Now recently sponsored by Capcut thanks to Biggastate's sponsorship program her fight is now powered by a platform that helps her content be seen just as she intended." 21 year old Scottish Actress Eden Wilson was born with a rare condition called Turner Syndrome (This is when a female is missing all or part of one of her X chromosomes) Performing has always been an outlet for her. Through portraying different characters she began to understood the value of being different and embracing that. It all started with writing and choreographing skits to perform in front of her family, then talent shows and drama groups. People have always made very open assumptions about her and hercapabilities. But she's beaten some incredible odds already. After being told i'd struggle in the industry and that they couldn't imagine me on TV. Good thing they won't have to imagine it. These assumptions haven't stopped Eden from studying acting - to performing in local theatre productions to working on film as a supporting actor. It hasn't stopped the actress from auditioning and perusing opportunities that interest her, having learned that the only way someone has no chance is by not taking it. She's showing young women and others affected by disability, anyone who's been told that they can't that anything is possible and not to give up. Her hope is to see a larger spread of diversity and opportunity in the industry and to be a part of that. Media Contact Company Name: Bigga$tate Contact Person: Jonathan Henderson Email: Send Email City: Chicago State: Illinois Country: United States Website:
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
CT man accused of killing, dismembering roommate in Groton dies in custody
A man with terminal cancer who was facing murder and tampering with evidence charges in connection with the death of his roommate whose remains were found in trash bags and luggage at a cemetery in Groton in March has died while in custody. Donald Coffel, 68, died last Friday at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Correction. He was being held on $1 million bond in the death of 58-year-old Suzanne Worser. Coffel's death was not considered suspicious, the spokesperson said, adding that an autopsy was expected to be completed to determine the cause. Connecticut State Police were notified of the death, according to the DOC. 'As standard procedure, the matter is under review by our Security Division,' the DOC spokesperson said. Gruesome details revealed: CT man allegedly admits disposing of woman's body in trash bags, luggage Coffel was charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence and improper disposal of a body in connection with Worser's death. Her remains were found on March 19 when officers with the City of Groton Police Department responded to Colonel Ledyard Cemetery at 240 Mitchell St. on the report of a black luggage bag next to two trash cans that smelled something was rotting inside, according to the warrant affidavit supporting Coffel's arrest. Police opened the bag and found a human torso that had been wrapped in a black trash bag, the warrant affidavit said. Detectives responded to the scene and were assisted by the Connecticut State's Attorney's Office and the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later found that the torso belonged to a woman between 45 and 65 years old who may have had Turner Syndrome, a developmental disability resulting in underdeveloped reproductive organs and growth, according to the warrant affidavit. After police released this information to the public, two family members of Worser contacted authorities and reported that they had not heard from her in some time, the warrant affidavit said. Investigators could not locate Worser at her residence on Allen Street, but they were able to find a record of a medical assist at the residence in December 2024 that showed Coffel was living with her and was taken to the hospital at that time, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives returned to the residence on April 17 and spoke to the property manager, who said Coffel had terminal pancreatic cancer and had not been living there since about three weeks prior when he went to the hospital, police wrote. Investigators were let into the residence where they allegedly found cleaning product on a stool and a baseball bat with what appeared to be dried blood and hair on it, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives later obtained a search warrant and allegedly found multiple stains that appeared to be a blood-like substance, the warrant affidavit said. Worser's purse, wallet and identification were also found in a trash bag along with men and women's clothing covered in a blood-like substance. Investigators later interviewed Coffel at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital where he said he had been in and out of the hospital since December 2024 and that, after one of his hospital visits, he found that Worser was no longer at the Allen Street residence, the warrant affidavit said. He said he believed she went missing between January and February but did not notify authorities. During a follow-up interview with Coffel at the hospital, detectives stepped out of his room upon receiving a tip from a witness who alleged that Coffel told him he hit Worser with a baseball bat and cut her up after she stole $200 from him, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel denied this when confronted with the information and later ended the interview. In an interview with police, the witness said he allowed Coffel to stay with him at some point in December when Coffel allegedly told him a woman had stolen his crack cocaine and that he was going to kill her, according to the warrant affidavit. The witness said the next time he saw Coffel, he allegedly told him he hit a woman three times in the head with a baseball bat, killing her, and cut her into pieces, putting her body parts in plastic bags that were thrown in the trash, the warrant affidavit said. During an interview with Coffel the next day, he allegedly conceded that what the witness said was true. He told investigators that, one day, possibly in early January, he grabbed a bat and hit Worser's head three times and that she died afterward, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel claimed that he kept Worser in the apartment for about 1 1/2 weeks before dismembering her, according to the warrant affidavit. He said he then put the body parts in black trash bags and disposed of those in two different dumpsters. Coffel allegedly said he was unable to dispose of one of the pieces and wheeled it to the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery entrance in a suitcase, investigators wrote. Coffel had been in custody since he was arrested on April 25. He had not entered a plea to the charges and was set to appear in New London Superior Court on June 10, court records show. Information from Courant editor Kellie Love was used in this report.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Gruesome details revealed: CT man allegedly admits disposing of woman's body in trash bags, luggage
A Groton man charged with murder in the death of his roommate allegedly admitted to dismembering the woman after beating her with a baseball bat and disposing of her remains in black trash bags and luggage, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. Donald Coffel, 68, was arrested Friday and charged with murder, tampering with physical evidence and improper disposal of a body in the death of 58-year-old Suzanne Worser. He was being held on a $1 million bond and was arraigned in court in New London on Monday. On March 19, officers from the City of Groton Police Department received a phone call stating that a black luggage bag was in front of Colonel Ledyard Cemetery at 240 Mitchell St. in Groton. The caller told dispatch that he noticed the bag was next to the two trash cans for several weeks and said he was curious so he walked up to the bag and looked inside the bag. 'The caller stated he could smell the odor of something rotting inside,' the warrant affidavit said. Officers responded to the scene, according to the warrant affidavit. As they approached the black suitcase, they said they could smell a 'rotten odor.' Officers opened the suitcase to expose the contents and discovered it was a female human torso that had been wrapped in a black trash bag, the warrant affidavit said. At this time, officers on the scene blocked off the area. The City of Groton Police Department's Detective Division was called to the scene, along with the Connecticut State's Attorney's Office, the Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad and the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, according to the warrant affidavit. Inside the suitcase were human remains which consisted of a female torso without the extremities, head and neck, and a black trash bag, which was next to the neck area, the warrant affidavit said. The OCME transported the remains to the medical examiner in Farmington. Arrest made in connection with human remains found in Groton dispelling rumors of serial killer Investigators began reviewing Automatic License Plate Reader footage in FLOCK for the area of Mitchell Street to determine when the suitcase appeared. They were able to narrow the time frame to a date range between Feb. 13-18, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives met with a forensic anthropologist at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on April 9 who said she believed the victim's age was between 45 and 65 years old, according to the warrant affidavit. The victim's manner of death was ruled a homicide. The OCME also determined the unidentified female may have had Turner Syndrome. 'Turner Syndrome is a developmental disability resulting in underdeveloped reproductive organs and growth,' the warrant affidavit said. Around that time, police released information that they believed the woman may have suffered from Turner syndrome. On April 11, a tip line was established, which began to receive additional information, according to the warrant affidavit. According to the warrant affidavit, a family member contacted police reporting that she believed the victim was her sister, later identified as Worser, the warrant affidavit said. She said she was concerned because she has not heard from Worser since the beginning of the year and Worser did not call her to wish a happy birthday, which was unlike her. She said Worser matched the description of the woman in the press release, the warrant affidavit said. The night, City of Groton officers went to the Worser's residence on Allen Street to conduct a welfare check. Officers were unsuccessful in contacting her, according to the warrant affidavit. The following day, detectives received a call from a second family member stating that she also believed the remains could be her sister-in-law. The family member and her husband said they had not heard from Worser since before Christmas, the warrant affidavit said. Investigators conducted a master name search in NEXGEN system for Worser and noted that the last interaction with her was back on Oct. 17, 2024 for a welfare check at the Allen Street residence, according to the warrant affidavit. The dispatch log entry stated the she was in good health. Detectives conducted an address search and found that Coffel was living with Worser. The last entry that had Coffel and Worser together at the residence was on Dec. 14, 2024 for a medical assist, where Coffel was transported to a local hospital, the warrant affidavit said. Detectives went to the Allen Street residence on April 17 and alleged that the blinds were bent and damaged and the apartment appeared to be in disarray, according to the warrant affidavit. The detectives contacted the property manager who told police Coffel has terminal pancreatic cancer. He said he was last seen living at the apartment about three weeks ago when was sent to the hospital, the warrant affidavit said. The property manager agreed to allow detectives in the unit. Detectives later learned that property manager changed the locks to the apartment shortly after Coffel was transported to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London during the beginning of April due to not paying rent. While walking toward the apartment, the property manager stated that the apartment smelled like something died in there, according to the warrant affidavit. As the door opened, detectives noted the odor of decomposition, the warrant affidavit said. Detectives said the contents of the apartment were scattered and in disarray. The front door opened to the living room, a sofa bed was set up in the middle of the room. Police observed a partial spray bottle of some type of cleaning product on a stool, the warrant affidavit said. In the living room, detectives noticed that a brown bookshelf was pulled away from the wall and there was a brown and black baseball bat that appeared to be wedged behind it. At the end of the bat, investigators allegedly noticed what appeared to be dried blood-like substance and brown hair strands that were stuck to the end of it, according to the warrant affidavit. Investigators noticed the arm on the sofa bed had 'significant discoloration' that appeared to be dried blood-like substance. Based on the observations, investigators made the decision to apply for a search and seizure warrant for the residence, the warrant affidavit said. Later that day, investigators from the Eastern District Major Crime Squad conducted an initial walk through of the apartment after the search warrant was approved. Detectives allegedly discovered a blood-like substance on the ceiling of the kitchen and it appeared that there was a blood-like substance on living room couch, the warrant affidavit says. Items seized included a garbage bag that contained a women's purse, wallet, identification cards for Worser, various cards and a garbage bag that contained a mixture of male and female clothing that were saturated in a red blood-like substance, the warrant affidavit said. Detectives also allegedly observed a blood-like substance smearing on the kitchen floor into the bedroom and a large area of a dried blood-like substance on the floor from the kitchen into the kitchen closet. The kitchen closet floor allegedly had a dried blood-like substance and investigators used two cotton tip swabs with sterile water to collect the blood-like substance. The swabs were secured in an envelope and brought back to City of Groton Police Department, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives learned Coffel was still a patient at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. They met with him and conducted a 2 1/2 hour interview in his hospital room that was recorded on their department issued body-worn camera. Detectives explained they were there because Worser's family had reported her missing. Coffel told police he moved in with Worser around the later part of November 2024. He stated he had back surgery on Dec. 22, 2024 at Yale New Haven Hospital and was released early January, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel claimed Worser was still at the residence when he got back from his back surgery, according to the warrant affidavit. Since then, he said he had been in and out of the hospital. He claimed that after one of his hospital visits he came back to the Allen Street residence and Worser was no longer there, according to the warrant affidavit. Coffel told detectives they got along OK with no arguments. However, he claimed he was 'freaked out' about the state of uncleanliness in the apartment and that Worser would get up at odd hours and turn lights or tv on. Another incident Coffel mentioned was when he returned from a hospital stay and alleged that Worser stole money out of a black leather briefcase he used to own, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel signed a written consent to search form for his DNA. Detectives collected two sets of buccal swabs which were packaged, according to the affidavit. Detectives asked about the baseball bat the observed in the apartment. Coffel said there was a bat behind the front door in the corner but claimed that it was not his bat. He said moved it one day looking in the closet and putting Worser's jackets away after he was told he had to be out of the apartment, the warrant affidavit said. According to the warrant affidavit, Coffel believed Worser went missing between January and February while he was hospitalized. Coffel said when he returned home, he did not call police because he did not know what the deal was with her disappearance. Detectives asked Coffel if anything was out of place when he returned home from the hospital. At first, he claimed that no furniture was out of place. Then he alleged that he moved some things when pulling out the couch bed and he got really freaked out when he noticed the left arm of the couch had a 'big ass blood stain on it,' the warrant affidavit said. Coffel stated he had never seen the stain because the arm of the chair was covered with a blanket and alleged it must have been there before but it was covered, according to the affidavit. Detectives asked why he never called the police and he stated he was not thinking. Detectives submitted one of the swabs that was collected from the kitchen closet floor to the Rapid DNA Kiosk at New London Police Department on April 18. Later in the day, they received a confirmation that swab was a match to the human remains found on March 19, the warrant affidavit said. Detectives spoke with Coffel again on April 22. Detectives asked if he had watched the news, and he said he had not. Coffel then asked the detective if they 'found her.' Detectives asked him if he heard about the remains police had found, and Coffel said his friend had called him and told him they found body parts, the warrant affidavit says. Detectives asked when was the last time Coffel saw Worser. Coffel said he believed it was when he got back from his surgery in December. A detective reminded Coffel that he said on the last interview that Worser had been there when he came back from that surgery, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel then claimed the last time he talked with Worser was before Christmas. Detectives told Coffel they found items in the apartment that suggested that something happened there. Coffel claimed he did not know what happened, according to the warrant affidavit. Detectives told Coffel there was blood all over the apartment on the walls and floors as well as the baseball bat. Coffel said he remembered the blood on the couch but not in other places. Detectives asked if Worser attacked him and Coffel said no. They asked if his DNA was going to show up on the Worser's body and he said 'I don't know.' Detectives received a phone call during the interview and stepped out of the room. They learned that another witness had called the City of Groton Police Department and reported details about the incident. The witness told a detective that Coffel told him about hitting Worser with a baseball bat and cutting her up, the warrant affidavit said. When the detective returned to the room, they told Coffel they received a tip from a witness who claimed that Coffel told them Worser stole $200 from him and Coffel said he hit her over the head with a baseball bat and disposed of her body in trash bags. Coffel replied, 'I didn't do that,' according to the warrant affidavit. After a back and forth with Coffel, detectives asked him if he wanted them to leave and he shook his head yes, the warrant affidavit said. On April 22, the witness came to the police station to issue provide a written and signed statement. The witness said Coffel had moved to live with his sister in Missouri sometime around November 2024 and returned the next month, begged him to stay at his place, according to the warrant affidavit. The witness said he allowed Coffel to spend the night for one night. The witness said Coffel then called 'the lady' on Allen Street and he ended up staying with her, the warrant affidavit said. The witness claimed that at another point in time, Coffel went to the hospital. When he came home, Coffel allegedly told him the female resident of apartment stole his crack cocaine and he was going to kill her. The witness believed Coffel told him this near the end of December 2024. The witness claimed that about a month or two later, Coffel came back to his house and told him they were not going to see the 'lady'again and that she was gone, the warrant affidavit says. The witness said the next time he saw Coffel, he allegedly told him he would not believe what happened with 'the lady.' The witness alleged Coffel said he hit her three times in the head with a baseball bat, and said her head 'split' and 'she was dead.' The witness alleged Coffel told him he cut her into pieces, put her in different black plastic bags and threw her in a trash bin, the warrant affidavit said. The witness said he did not believe Coffel at the time. The witness also remembered that sometime in February, Coffel told him someone stole his suitcase and the witness now realized he did something else with the suitcase. The witness said he felt overwhelmed with the information and contacted the City of Groton Police Department, the warrant affidavit says. Detective spoke Coffel at the hospital the next day. Prior to interviewing him, detectives read him his Miranda rights. Approximately 40 minutes into the interview, detectives told Coffel about the information that the witness gave police. As the detective speaking, Coffel was allegedly nodding his head up and down. The detective asked Coffel if he was nodding his head 'yes' because that's what happened, and Coffel allegedly responded, 'yeah,' the warrant affidavit says. Detectives asked Coffel to tell them what happened and he allegedly said, 'Alright man, I did it, I hit her in the head with a (expletive) baseball bat and it cracked her (expletive) head open,' according to the warrant affidavit. Coffel said one day the witness dropped him off at the apartment where he and Worser lived. Coffel claimed could not remember exactly when, possibly the first part of January. He allegedly said he grabbed the baseball bat that was outside the closet in the corner, walked toward Worser and hit her on the head three times. He allegedly said after he hit her, she looked dead, the warrant affidavit said. Coffel said he checked to see if Worser was alive, but she was not, the warrant affidavit says. He allegedly said he kept Worser in the apartment for about 1 1/2 weeks before dismembering her. Coffel allegedly said after he dismembered her, he put the parts in black trash bags and disposed of those in two different dumpsters. Coffel allegedly said he was unable to dispose of one of the pieces and wheeled it to the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery entrance in a suitcase. Based on the information obtained during the investigation, Coffel was arrested and charged.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
Groton man to appear in court on murder charges after human remains were found
NEW LONDON, Conn. (WTNH) — A Groton man is expected in court Monday, accused of killing a woman and stuffing her body in a suitcase. The body was found last month near a cemetery. Police identified the victim and the suspect late Friday. Groton man charged with murder after human remains were found The 68-year-old man is expected to appear in court to face charges of killing a 58-year-old woman. The woman's body was found stuffed into a suitcase and dumped near the entrance of the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery in Groton last month. Investigators were able to determine the victim had Turner Syndrome. That's a chromosomal disorder in certain women that usually means they are short with a wide neck. That helped police determine who the victim was, leading to a suspect. 'The victim is identified as Suzanne Wormser, age 58, who is a resident of the City of Groton. The suspect is identified as Donald Coffel, age 68, who's also a resident of the City of Groton,' Chief David Burton for the City of Groton said. Police said the two lived together in a house on Allen Street. That was where police said they discovered what they are calling a second crime scene. A witness came forward after police put out the description of the victim and set up a tip line. Once that witness supplied details, police said Donald Coffel then confessed to killing Wormser. Coffel is currently being held on a $1 million bond and is expected to be arraigned at the New London Superior Court on Monday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
