The household of an engineer discovered lifeless with “no neck” in a quaint Connecticut cottage he shared along with his girlfriend remains to be trying to find solutions two years after his demise.
Shane DeJongh, 53, was discovered lifeless in his Cheshire house on Oct. 6, 2023, from what investigators initially believed was introduced on by a “coronary heart assault,” the Hartford Courant reported.
Nevertheless, when his sister Robyn van Ekelenburg and different members of the family flew out from his house state of California to view his physique, they instantly “knew one thing was incorrect.”
“He didn't seem like he had had a neck,” van Ekelenburg advised the outlet. “And we didn't know at that time, however we knew sufficient to know there's one thing incorrect along with his neck. It was like he had no neck. I can't even clarify it.”
The grieving sister — who was named the administrator of her brother's property — suspected foul play was concerned and began gathering proof to show DeJongh didn't die of pure causes like authorities had mentioned.
After DeJongh's post-mortem outcomes had been submitted, the household's suspicions had been confirmed.
DeJongh's official reason for demise was listed as “cardiac arrhythmia following bodily altercation with blunt accidents of head and neck, complicating hypertensive and atherosclerotic heart problems,” the Connecticut Workplace of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed, in line with the Hartford Courant.
DeJongh additionally suffered bruising, a left ear abrasion, and a mind bleed, together with a neck hemorrhage and a perimortem fracture on his “left superior cornu of the thyroid cartilage,” in line with the post-mortem.
A spokesperson for the workplace then dominated his demise a murder.
Nevertheless, since his demise, the engineering supervisor's household nonetheless has not gotten any solutions to what occurred.
“We knew at that time one thing actually did occur that evening,” van Ekelenburg advised the outlet.
In March, the household sued DeJongh's girlfriend, Natasha Vadasz, however withdrew the case final week to revise the criticism and add a further defendant and plaintiff.
In response to the withdrawn lawsuit, Vadasz, 51, listed her three-bedroom Cheshire house — situated about 30 miles south of Hartford — on the market shortly earlier than DeJongh's demise. The couple had been making ready to relocate to Georgia after he accepted a brand new job supply, in line with the Hartford Courant.
The evening DeJongh died, the couple went out to rejoice with their realtor earlier than relocating. He could be discovered lifeless in his mattress the subsequent morning in the identical garments he had on the evening earlier than.
Cheshire Police Chief Frederick J. Jortner mentioned officers responded to a report of an premature demise, after which detectives took over the case with assist from state police main crimes investigators and the medical expert.
Jortner revealed that the investigation has included a number of interviews and in depth forensic work and is being led below the course of the New Haven State's Legal professional's Workplace, however declined to launch any further particulars “to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
Van Ekelenburg mentioned the household has obtained few updates from investigators and has solely pieced collectively restricted data from Vadasz earlier than she offered the cottage in March and relocated to North Carolina together with her son.
DeJongh's sister claims that the household has their suspicions of who was behind his demise, however didn't explicitly title the particular person.
“We don't know what actually occurred that evening,” van Ekelenburg advised the outlet. “It's like attempting to place a puzzle collectively with out all of the items. However regardless of the case is, Shane was the one one with accidents that evening.”
The DeJongh household lawyer, Kenneth Krayeske, confirmed that the go well with was withdrawn in order that DeJongh's daughter, Zoey, might be added as a plaintiff. One other defendant was added to the go well with, however Krayeske didn't share their title.
As of late 2025, no arrests have been made, and the investigation stays lively below the supervision of the New Haven State's Legal professional's Workplace.
DeJongh grew up in San Jose and moved to Connecticut in 2020 after accepting a place with APCT, Inc., a circuit board producer primarily based in Wallingford.
He's remembered as having a “sturdy work ethic” and as “an completed musician, writing and composing a lot of his personal songs of a number of totally different genres, and enjoying for a lot of fundraiser occasions for the advantage of others,” in line with an internet obituary.
