In the quiet town of Southington, Connecticut, the life of a 41-year-old Caucasian woman named Michelle A. Barrett was tragically cut short on Sunday, June 3, 2018. A lead phlebotomist at the Harold Leever Cancer Center in Waterbury, she was known for her kind heart, great sense of humor, and a beautiful smile that could light up a room. Michelle was a mother to her son, Christian, and lived with her grandmother in the Plantsville section of town.
On that Sunday morning, around 6 a.m.,
Southington police were dispatched to the Manor Road residence for a welfare check, a request that came from the Naugatuck Police Department. In the backyard of the home where her grandmother was sleeping soundly inside, officers made a grim discovery. Michelle Barrett was found deceased, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound. Her death was immediately investigated as a homicide.
The investigation quickly zeroed in on a suspect: Michelle's 40-year-old ex-boyfriend, Robert DeSantis of Naugatuck. The events that unfolded revealed a tragic sequence tied to domestic violence. After shooting Michelle, DeSantis drove to the Naugatuck Police Department. In the parking lot, just before 5:30 a.m., he turned the gun on himself. He was transported to a local hospital with what police described as "very serious wounds."
While investigators, including the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad, began to piece together the timeline of events, DeSantis remained in critical condition. However, he would not face charges for Michelle's murder. On Monday, June 4, 2018, Robert DeSantis succumbed to his self-inflicted injuries and died. Police confirmed that the two had been in a relationship, but there were no protective orders in place at the time of the incident. The community was left to mourn the loss of a woman remembered by her family as an avid animal lover who touched many lives and will be missed by all who knew her.
