TV Show Reexamines Smolinski Cold Case

A hot investigation into a cold case, Investigation Discovery’s new program “Disappeared” will revisit the 2004 disappearance of Waterbury resident William Smolinski Jr. tonight at 10 p.m. 

“I knew immediately something was wrong,” his mother, Janice Smolinski, said in a clip for the show.
 
Mrs. Smolinski, of Cheshire, said the production crew spent more than a week in Connecticut, and hours interviewing her and her husband, William Smolinski Sr., the New Haven Register reports.
 
The episode, titled “Favorite Son,” describes Smolinski as “a hard working tough guy who suddenly disappears a week after discovering that his girlfriend is cheating on him.”
 
Smolinski was only 31-years-old when he inexplicably disappeared on Aug. 24, 2004.
 
Just before Smolinski disappeared, he had broken up with his girlfriend, Madeline Gleason, after finding out she had been cheating on him with a married man, according to police reports.
 
Police reports indicate that on Aug. 24, the upset Smolinski left a phone message on the philandering man’s voicemail saying, “You better watch your back.” That's the last day anyone has reported seeing Billy.
 
A neighbor said Smolinski asked him to watch his dog that day while he went to New Hampshire to buy a truck.
 
Several possible leads have come forward in the past. One indicated that Smolinski was killed and buried under a driveway in Shelton. Another allegation was that Gleason’s son killed Smolinksi. Police also received a tip that led investigators to dig on a property in the town of Seymour.
 
Despite these leads, investigators have yet to explain the disappearance or find Smolinski.
 
 “I am absolutely hoping the show will bring in tips,” Janice Smolinski told the Register. “Whenever there is publicity about the case, people do come forward and talk about it. Maybe this show will bring out someone else. Everything points to Billy being murdered, but there are different versions of how it was done. I am hoping we’ll get answers soon.”

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