Who was Casey Chadwick? Murdered Norwich woman's boyfriend speaks in Jean Jacques retrial
NEW LONDON – Jurors on Tuesday got their first glimpse into the life of Casey Chadwick beyond the image of her bloodied and lifeless body, through the recollections of her former boyfriend.
The 25-year-old Norwich resident, found murdered seven years ago inside her Spaulding Street apartment, was a “homebody” who relished watching “Game of Thrones” and curling up with her new puppy, said Chadwick’s boyfriend, Jean Joseph, during his time on the stand.
Joseph, who testified inside New London Superior Court during the second day of evidence presentation in the retrial of 47-year-old Jean Jacques, said Chadwick was content most nights to stay at home – which she kept neat as a pin – and watch movies.
“She was my best friend,” said Joseph, who found Chadwick’s body slumped and lifeless inside her living room closet on June 15, 2015. "We never missed a beat."
Joseph, during direct examination by Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Christa Baker, spoke about the hours leading up his gruesome discovery. A few feet away, Chadwick’s accused killer sat scribbling notes next to his attorney, Sebastian DeSantis.
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Joseph, a self-admitted dealer of marijuana and narcotics, said he and Chadwick traveled to Mystic on June 14, 2015 where the couple purchased approximately 3 ounces of weed before heading back home to eat burgers and watch television.
Joseph said he left soon after and spent the night on the couch of his child’s mother’s home - a decision he said the two argued about. Later that night, Joseph said Chadwick texted him to say “Zoe,” a nickname he knew Jacques by, was at the house.
That message was the last he’d receive from Chadwick.
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Joseph described Jacques as an acquaintance he met through Chadwick months before and occasionally bought and sold drugs to.
Joseph returned to Chadwick’s residence the next afternoon after unsuccessfully trying to contact her for hours. He said the apartment was in a state of disarray, like it had been “ransacked,” with the recently purchased marijuana missing, as was a quantity of crack cocaine kept in a kitchen cabinet.
After briefly leaving the residence, Joseph said he returned and ultimately found Chadwick’s body.
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“I found her lying down,” he said with a breaking voice.
Jacques is accused of stabbing Chadwick to death in connection with an ongoing drug-related dispute with Joseph. Chadwick suffered 15 neck and face stab wounds, according to medical examiners.
During DeSantis’ cross-examination, Joseph admitted not spotting a bag of used paper towels in the residence nor a mop bucket filled with “red-tinted” water. He also admitted to parking his child’s mother’s car a block away from the apartment and giving a false name to the police dispatcher he called hours before when trying to locate Chadwick.
DeSantis was still conducting his cross-examination of Joseph Tuesday afternoon.
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The trial’s jury pool shrunk by one on Tuesday when a regular juror was excused by Judge Shari Murphy after admitting to “nodding off” during the previous day’s proceedings. He was replaced by one of the four alternates.
Jacques, previously found guilty of attempted murder in a different Norwich case, was convicted of murdering Chadwick in 2016 and sentenced to 60 years in prison. That conviction was later overturned by the state Supreme Court which cited an improper search of Jacques’ Norwich apartment as grounds for ordering a new trial.
John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Casey Chadwick's boyfriend testifies in day two of Jacques re-trial
