WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- The man who police said shot a Willimantic police officer and fired at pursuing state troopers admitted to state police that he killed his father, John Samuolis, in February and lived with the body in the home they shared at 31 Tunxis Lane, according to a police report.
The shooting of the Willimantic officer Tuesday morning prompted a massive manhunt. The suspect, Andrew Samuolis, 34, was taken into custody after about a 90-minute search.
Andrew Samuolis has "serious underlying mental health issues," a court official said Wednesday during his arraignment in Superior Court in Danielson. His public defender said Andrew Samuolis is unemployed has been receiving Social Security disability benefits "for a significant period of time."
In a police report released after the arraignment, Samuolis, 34, also admitted to shooting at a Willimantic police officer, fleeing the scene and shooting at responding officers.
The Willimantic officer, whose name has not been released, is recovering from a gunshot wound to his arm.
The body of John Samuolis was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Farmington; the autopsy is planned for Thursday.
It was neighbors who first asked police to check on him because they saw many flies at the house. A law enforcement official said authorities believe John Samuolis had been dead for several months.
It was during that attempt to check John Samuolis' welfare, about 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, that Andrew Samuolis opened fire and wounded the officer, police said.
At the arraignment, Judge Hope Seeley left Andrew Samuolis' bail at $1 million. She also ordered a mental health evaluation and placed him on a mental health watch.
Samuolis was initially charged with breach of peace and interfering with police, but more serious charges were filed Wednesday, including three counts of attempted first-degree assault, three counts of attempted assault on a police officer, and single counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm, second-degree threatening, second-degree breach of peace and resisting arrest.
Samuolis was captured Tuesday afternoon after a massive manhunt in his Tunxis Lane neighborhood and along nearby Route 32.
Neighbors said they had not seen Samuolis in several weeks, and one reported seeing many flies near the house. Public records indicate the house is owned by John and Constance Samuolis.
A neighbor who did not want to be named said he saw a police officer get into the home through a front window "and all hell broke loose."
After the initial report of the shooting of the Willimantic officer, police from nearby towns, state troopers and off-duty officers from several departments flooded into Willimantic to assist in the manhunt.
Fifteen state police canine teams were practicing nearby and responded to the call.
A little more than half a mile through the woods from Tunxis Lane, residents reported seeing a man running through back yards. At one point, he exchanged gunfire with police, Vance said.
The chase ended about 12:50 p.m. when a state police canine team caught Samuolis near the IGA grocery store on Route 32 in Willimantic, Vance said.
When troopers found Samuolis, he had a handgun, and officers also recovered a rifle at 31 Tunxis Lane, Vance said.
Samuolis had dog bites and other injuries and was treated at Windham Hospital, Vance said.
A Tunxis Lane neighbor who did not want to be identified said he called police Tuesday because he noticed a mass of flies on the windows of 31 Tunxis Lane.
"It didn't look right to me," the neighbor said.
Fred Masse was working at a house on Oxbow Drive, near Tunxis Lane, shortly after 11 a.m. when he heard what he thought were fireworks. He said he went outside and saw a police officer with a bloody arm. The officer got into a police car, which drove him to an ambulance nearby, Masse said.
Another resident of Tunxis Lane, Ivan Maldonado, said three people lived at the home where the shooting happened -- a mother, a father and one son. Maldonado said the mother died about two years ago. He said he used to see the father driving around in the mornings but hadn't seen him in a couple of weeks. The son was very reclusive, Maldonado said.
"I was cutting my grass, and I heard pop, pop, pop," Maldonado said. "As soon as the pops went off, five minutes later this place was loaded with cops."
About 30 minutes later, police arrived and told him to leave the area because the suspect had fled, Maldonado said.
Ashley Corey of Windham Road said she was watching television about 12:45 p.m. when she heard gunshots. She said she went outside to investigate and saw a helicopter and several state troopers.
The search focused on an area near Route 32 southeast of the center of Willimantic. The state police helicopter was also dispatched, along with emergency service units. Major crime squad detectives are investigating both crime scenes: the suspect's house and the area where police said he exchanged gunfire with them during the chase.
Matthew Vertefeuille, a spokesman for the town of Windham -- which includes Willimantic -- said he could not remember another case of an a police officer being shot in the town.
"It's a safe city," he said. "We don't have that kind of crime here."
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
