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Danbury police make arrest in 35-year-old kidnapping cold case

Police reviewed old evidence to identify the suspect in the case which took place in the late 1980s.
Danbury police

DANBURY, Conn. — Police have made an arrest in cold case that dates back three and a half decades. 

David V. Coffey, 53, was taken into custody Tuesday by Danbury police and charged with Kidnapping in the 1st degree and held on $750,000 bond. 

Police said in the late 1980s, in the area of Lake Avenue and Merrimac Street, they investigated a series of incidents that included the abduction and rape of female residents, putting residents on edge. The case had gone unsolved for years. 

In November 2023, a woman who was the victim of abduction and rape during that time contacted police and the cases were reopened. The Danbury Police Department Special Victims Unit re-interviewed people identified by the original investigators and utilized resources that were not available in the late 1980s. 

With the help of the State Police Forensic Laboratory, investigators positively identified Coffey as a suspect. Coffey lived in the area during the late 1980s. 

The court issued an arrest warrant  for Coffey, charging him in connection with a 1989 incident involving the abduction and rape of a woman who lived in the area. 

Police said other arrests are pending, and they are asking for people who might know something about these incidents to contact Det. John Basile at 203-797-4668, the Danbury Police Investigative Services Bureau at 203-797-4662, or the anonymous Tips Line at 203-790-TIPS (8477). Anonymous web tips can also be submitted here: https://www.tip411.com/tips/new?alert_group_id=22782

Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.

 

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