$50k reward offered for info on Floyd Ellis murder case

SHARON — State Police announced this week that the investigation into the 2004 murder of Sharon resident Floyd Ellis is moving forward. All that’s needed is a little push, and the case could be solved, they believe. To help them get the last little bit of information they need, the state is now offering a $50,000 reward for any information that results in a conviction.

The reward was announced on Tuesday by the state Division of Criminal Justice and David Shepack, who is the state’s attorney for the judicial district of Litchfield. Shepack received approval from Gov. M. Jodi Rell this week to offer the money. It is the maximum amount the state can offer.

The case is being investigated by a team from the Western District Major Crime Squad at the Troop B barracks in North Canaan. Detective Brian Narkewicz is the lead investigator. There are four investigators and a troop sargeant in the Troop B crime squad.

"The investigators have spoken to the state’s attorney’s office and feel they have a good solid case they can move forward with if they get a little more information," said Trooper William Tate of the State Police Public Information Office in an interview with The Journal on Wednesday morning.

Tate cautioned against giving too much credence to what he called "scuttlebut" about the investigation. However, there has been scuttlebut around Sharon in recent months that a recent drug bust at the Sharon Valley Tavern was related to the investigation of the murder. Ellis was murdered shortly after leaving the tavern on Sept. 21, 2004. His body was found three days later in Webatuck Creek. He was apparently killed by a blow to the back of his head and then dragged into the creek.

When asked if the offer of the reward is related to information gleaned during the bust at the tavern — or if the money was being offered simply because the case has been simmering for so many years — Tate responded that the offer "has nothing to do with timing. There is no aspect of timing. This case is moving forward."

Tate reiterated several times that "what usually solves a case like this is, a person comes forward with a very small piece of information that allows us to proceed with pursuing a suspect or suspects."

The police estimate that they have so far interviewed more than 100 people about the murder and events surrounding it.

"You’d be surprised at how sometimes the most remote witness can turn a case completely around," Tate said. "Someone who may know some little fact can make it possible for us to proceed further."

Sometimes there is a chain of connections, he said. One person knows something that leads the police to a person who knows a person who has an essential piece of information.

"It could be a person who had contact three weeks prior to the murder," he explained. "It doesn’t have to be someone from Sharon, it can be someone from the next community or the next state. It’s surprising when you do this kind of investigation where the leads can lead you. The most minute detail might bring you new information that could lead the investigation in a new direction."

Witnesses needn’t limit their tips to the night of the murder, Tate said.

"Whatever information they might have, if it’s directly related to the case that’s better, but if it’s not they should call the detectives anyway and let them decide."

Detective Narkewicz would not reveal whether he has received any calls since the announcement of the reward was made this week. He can be reached at 860-824-2500. Calls can be kept confidential.

A call to the murder victim’s sister, Sharon resident Krista Ellis, was not returned by press time. A carpenter who was well known and liked by his neighbors in Sharon Valley, where his parents still live, Ellis was the father of two boys.

In September 2006, Krista Ellis said her family was in touch about once every two months with state police investigators.

Trooper Tate said the investigation has never been allowed to be dormant, even though the murder occured in a remote and rural part of the state.

"Small town, big city, it’s the victim we’re looking out for," he said.

Violent deaths are a rarity in the Northwest Corner. The last murder case in the area was the execution-style killing of Earl Morey at Long Pond in Lakeville in 1986. Richard Duntz of Salisbury was eventually convicted of that murder, which was linked to the burning of Salisbury Town Hall in 1985.

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