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Man Awaiting Trial For Ex-Wife’s Murder Found Dead By Police After Barricading Himself In Storage Container
James Taylor had been accused of breaking into his ex-wife's Connecticut home and gunning her down, then attempting to kill his stepson.
A Connecticut man accused of killing his ex-wife was found dead by police Tuesday night after he'd barricaded himself in a storage container on his property during a standoff with authorities.
James Taylor had been out on a $2 million bond and was under house arrest as he waited to stand trial for his ex-wife’s murder. However, Fairfield Police said in a statement that they were alerted at approximately 5:16 p.m. Tuesday that Taylor’s GPS monitoring device was not responding and that he was not answering calls from court staff.
When they arrived at Taylor’s Bronson Road property, they discovered he had barricaded himself into a storage container at the back of the property—leading to a standoff with police for several hours, according to the CT Post.
Lt. Robert Kalamaras told the media that Taylor was found dead inside the container shortly before 10 p.m., the Hartford Courant reports.
His cause of death is being investigated; however, authorities believe he took his own life.
Officials had initially been concerned that Taylor may have laid traps for authorities around the property, but nothing was ever found.
“There was some concern in the beginning,” Kalamaras said. “We’re just looking out for the safety of our officers.”
Taylor was facing charges of murder, home invasion, criminal attempt to commit murder, first-degree burglary, illegal discharge of a firearm and third-degree assault in the death of his ex-wife, Catherine Taylor, 70.
Catherine was killed Feb. 3 while staying with her stepson.
Authorities said James Taylor broke into the home around 9:30 p.m. and shot her with a .22-caliber rifle. He then allegedly tried to reload the weapon to shoot her stepson, however, the stepson was able to tackle Taylor and gain control of the weapon, police said.
James Taylor suffered the minor injuries seen in his mugshot during the physical exchange between the pair before police arrived.
James Taylor’s son, Chris Taylor, had reportedly posted his father’s $2 million bond to secure his father’s release from jail pending the trial, court records show.
