An Enfield man, who is accused of killing his wife, Anja Dewees, 46, because he was tired of changing her diapers every day, appeared in court on Tuesday.
John Dewees Jr., 49, had a face-to-face moment with the couple's only son, Joey and his best friend, Carl Cianfarani outside the courthouse after his arraignment for a first-degree manslaughter charge. The son told detectives that Dewees Jr. was abusive to him and his mother for years.
Earlier, Joey Dewees and Cianfarani sat on opposite sides of the courtroom as Dewees Jr. entered in handcuffs. Dewees did little talking except to his best friend who he greeted with the words, "Hey Goomba." While he had no words for his father, Cianfarani, of Windsor Locks, offered him this advice.
"I was telling him to be strong because I don't want him to hurt himself or nothing [sic]," Cianfarani said.
At Dewees' attorney's request, the judge case continued the case to June 10 and reduced his bond to $175,000.
Police found Anja Dewees dead at the couple's home on 4 Magnolia Drive on Thursday night.
The body was wrapped with duct tape in a deflated waterbed mattress and had been in house for two days, according to the arrest warrant application.
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Police began investigating the death after a neighbor had called authorities around 9 p.m. on Thursday about a possible death and said John Dewees Jr. "was acting a little weird," according to police.
Crisis intervention officers responded and police set up a perimeter around the house. John Dewees Jr. came outside to speak with officers, police said.
After getting a search and seizure warrant for the house, Enfield officers and members of the Connecticut State Police Major Crimes Unit went inside and found Anja's body in a bedroom.
During an interview with police, Dewees Jr. said his wife had been ill for about four years and he had been taking car of her, feeding her and bathing her, according to the arrest warrant application.
He told investigators that he and his wife had been drinking on Tuesday night and his wife hit her head when she "came out of his hands" as he was putting her into the tub, according to the arrest warrant application.
After the bath, Dewees Jr. said he put his wife to bed and went to sleep next to her. When he woke up on Wednesday, he knew his wife was dead, but did not want to call anyone because he wanted to stay with her for a couple of days, he said, according to the police report.
Police continued to probe and asked Dewees Jr. why he didn't call an ambulance.
"She was dead. I didn't think there was anything I can do," he said, according to police.
But police noticed inconsistencies in the story and explained that to Dewees Jr..
Then, Dewees Jr. admitted to pushing his wife into the tub and hitting the side of her head because he was tired of changing her diapers every day, according to the arrest warrant application.
He said he was upset because his wife had soiled herself and ruined their good time as they were listening to music and drinking on Tuesday night and punched her, according to the arrest warrant application.
The medical examiner performed an autopsy and determined that Anja Dewees died of blunt force injury to the head with a skull fracture, but that comes paired with broken ribs, bruises and possible strangulation.
Dewees Jr. was originally held on a $250,000 bond until his was arraigned. Bond was lowered to $175,000 and he is next due in court on June 10.
