Posted on 01/27/2009 6:11:57 PM PST by Koblenz
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A Connecticut legislator was with a state employee last Wednesday night before she was found dead the next afternoon of hypothermia, Rocky Hill police said Tuesday.
Rep. James A. O'Rourke III, a Cromwell Democrat, provided investigators with a written statement on Tuesday, said Lt. John Herbst.
He told police he left O'Leary's Digger McDuff's Tavern in Cromwell around the same time as 41-year-old Carol Jean Sinigalli of Rocky Hill, at about 11:30 p.m. He said Sinigalli, who was in an altercation earlier that evening with another patron, ran out to his car, pulled open a back door and jumped in.
Someone had called police to the bar because of the fight, but Sinigalli and O'Rourke were gone by the time they arrived. Sinigalli left behind her coat, shoes and purse. Her car was sitting in the bar's parking lot.
O'Rourke told police he planned to drive Sinigalli home because he thought she would be a dangerous driver. Rocky Hill police are awaiting toxicology tests to determine if Sinigalli was intoxicated that night.
O'Rourke said he knew the woman through a mutual friend but did not know exactly where she lived. During their ride together in the car, O'Rourke said Sinigalli became uncooperative and belligerent, knocking down his rear view mirror, garage door opener and glasses before eventually jumping out of the car.
He said she ran across the street. Temperatures that night were in the single digits. O'Rourke said he did not know Sinigalli was barefoot.
"I believe that when she left the car, she was close to her home and knew where she was going," O'Rourke told reporters in the written statement.
Sinigalli, an employee at the Department of Motor Vehicles, was found by a cross-country skier at 4:45 p.m. about 10 or 12 feet from some railroad tracks. She was wearing blue jeans, a shirt and light sweater.
Police believe she walked barefoot for about a half mile before collapsing. They could see her footprints in the snow.
Sinigalli was initially identified the same night she was found. A patrol officer recognized a picture of the body as that of a woman he arrested on Dec. 22 for driving while intoxicated.
On Friday, the day after the body was discovered, O'Rourke's attorney contacted the police and said his client might have a connection to the case. That led police to visit the bar, where they discovered Sinigalli's belongings.
O'Rourke's attorney set up and interview with the lawmaker and police on Saturday. They agreed O'Rourke would provide a written statement.
"He's been very cooperative," Herbst said.
Herbst said the case is still under investigation. "But, at present, there is no criminal aspect to it."
A call was left seeking comment with O'Rourke. As assistant majority whip, O'Rourke represents the 32nd Assembly District, which includes Cromwell, Portland and Middletown. He first began serving in the General Assembly in 1991.
One State Senator was double billing his campaign for reimbursements.
Two Senators want to legalize marijuana to help the economy. No, I can't figure it out either. Maybe if I were smoking some, I could explain.
The mayor of Hartford got arrested.
The new speaker hired the old speaker for $120,000 a year because the old speaker didn't have a job and was running for governor.
Now we have to add a dead body to the mix. And it's not even a month into the new year yet.
“The only way I can lose this election is if I’m caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy.”
— Edwin Edwards on his 1983 Louisiana Gubernatorial election against incumbent David C. Treen
This is the railroad track version of Ted Kennedy. There’s enough stink in this to make you go hmmmmmmm.... Just saying.
Did he lose?
A lot has changed in 26 years.
Today only one of those two would impact a candidate.
Especially in Portland.
What's the problem?
This is just a hiccup.
The point of this proposal is to save money on the pointless law enforcement and imprisonment costs associated with marijuana prosecution. And to help you further, no they don't want to legalize marijuana, they want to make it an offense similar to speeding, an offender would get a $100 ticket.
It's easy to understand once you actually read the facts behind the proposal.
Unless you're smoking something
Connecticut is kinda a small state. Is this a crime wave or just the general state of affairs? For a while, I thought this was a Kennedy story.
Akin to “Dying in the Saddle,” but having the saddle die first is a bit unusual.
I'm sorry but I just bursted out laughing at "is this a crime wave".
These "political elite" think they are so untouchable. I hope this woman, whoever and whatever she was, gets justice. This guy is obviously scum of the Kennedy kind. Nobody's mentioned if he was married. That would explain the bizzare story he told.
The scarey part? There was actually a majority that voted this bass turd into office.
I thought this was gonna be some lurid story about lesbians (the lawmaker died?).
Gary Condit re-visited
Married, 3 kids.
Don’t see any problem here. Every passenger jumps out of a car barefooted in single digit temperatures when they get close to home. Happens all the time, usually just before thanking the driver.
I dunno... After reading the story I think the guy might possibly be on the level. Sounds like the woman was a little outta control.
I never got that feeling. See post 14.
Leni
I sympathize with the horny male bar patron in the late evening, having been in that position. And some of the choices available are only borderline attractive. And how in hell can you be responsible for their actions? We are not talking Gary Condit here. Of course my experience was as a single person, not married with children.
Yes, her recent problem drinking indicates she may have been emotionally disturbed, perhaps in the way some get when an affair is called off, or one realizes he isn't going to leave his wife:
A patrol officer recognized a picture of the body as that of a woman he arrested on Dec. 22 for driving while intoxicated.
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