In the quiet town of New Milford, Connecticut, the evening of July 2, 2014, was shattered by a tragic event that unfolded in the parking lot of a Kohl's department store. John Pierpaoli, a 60-year-old Caucasian male, was found dead in his 2010 Chevy Silverado. The events leading to the discovery began around 9:15 p.m. when the New Milford Police Department received a 911 call about a vehicle being driven erratically in the shopping plaza on Danbury Road. Callers reported that the truck had struck at least one concrete light post before jumping a curb and coming to a final rest against a tree.
A New Milford police officer who was close to the shopping plaza responded immediately. As the officer arrived on the scene, a gunshot was heard from the vicinity of the Silverado. Inside the vehicle, the officer discovered the lone occupant, John Pierpaoli, who was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services. The cause of death was determined to be an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Following the incident, the New Milford Police Chief requested the assistance of the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad to investigate the scene.
The subsequent investigation concluded that there was no criminal aspect to Pierpaoli's death. Authorities did not seek any suspects, and no arrests were made, as the evidence pointed to suicide. At the time of his death, Pierpaoli, a hardwood floor installer, was the defendant in a civil lawsuit stemming from a head-on car collision in June 2012. A pre-trial conference for that case was scheduled to take place just days after his death, on July 10, 2014. A resident of Westview Road in New Milford, Pierpaoli was remembered by his pastor at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Danbury as "a faithful parishioner and weekly communicant."
