Groton man dismembered roommate and disposed of her remains in bags, suitcase: warrant

Police have charged a man with murder after finding part of his roommate’s body in a suitcase near a cemetery by their apartment in Groton and the arrest warrant reveals gruesome details.

Donald Coffel, 68, of Groton, has been charged with the murder of 58-year-old Suzanne Wormser.

During the police investigation, Coffel admitted that he hit Wormser in the head with a baseball bat, kept her dead body in the apartment they shared for a week-and-a-half, then he dismembered her and put body parts in two garbage bags, which he disposed of in two large trash bins, according to the arrest warrant.

It goes on to say that he put her torso in a suitcase and wheeled it over to the entrance of the Colonel Ledyard Cemetery.

A witness found the suitcase near the cemetery on March 19 and officers discovered a woman’s torso when they opened the bag, according to the warrant.

On April 9, the office of the chief medical examiner determined that Wormser’s death was a homicide.

The arrest warrant for Coffel says police determined that the suitcase was discarded by the cemetery between Feb. 13 and Feb. 18.

The FBI New Haven Field Office helped set up a tip line for tips in the case and some of Wormser’s family members called to report they thought Suzanne was the victim who police had found.

One family member said she hadn’t heard from Wormser since the beginning of the year while another had not heard from her since before Christmas.

The arrest warrant said that Coffel, who previously lived in the area left the state, returned and Wormser was letting him stay with her in an apartment on Allen Street in Groton, about 800 feet away from where her remains would be found in a suitcase.

As the investigation progressed, a witness told police that Coffel told them that Wormser had stolen $200 worth of crack cocaine from him and he was going to kill her, according to the arrest warrant. Then, around two months later, Coffel told the witness they were not going to see the “lady” again and she was gone.

The arrest warrant also goes into detail on what investigators found in the apartment, including a baseball bat, a handsaw, blood, a garbage bag with clothing and another with Wormser’s purse, wallet and identification cards as well as other cards.

Coffel is being held on $1 million bond.

He appeared in court virtually on Monday because of some health issues. He is due in court again on June 10.

Many who live in the apartment complex in Groton are still coming to terms with what happened.

“It's kind of unreal. It’s hard to think -- it’s hard to make real,” said Ryan Douglas.