An engineer was discovered deceased at his girlfriend’s charming Connecticut cottage after sustaining severe injuries following a physical confrontation the previous night.
Shane DeJongh died on October 6, 2023 from what investigators initially believed to be natural causes, The Hartford Courant reports.
However, his sister, Robyn van Ekelenburg, immediately suspected foul play after she flew in from California to view his body and noticed ‘something wrong with his neck.’ Robyn mentioned that it was so swollen, it appeared as if he didn’t have a neck at all.
An autopsy determined DeJongh, 53, had several skin contusions on his head, an abrasion on his left ear and had suffered a brain bleed.
He also had a hemorrhage in his neck and fractured his ‘left superior cornu of the thyroid cartilage’, the report stated.
The coroner’s report indicated that DeJongh’s death was due to a ‘cardiac arrhythmia following physical altercation with blunt injuries to the head and neck, complicated by hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,’ officially declaring his death a homicide.
It has now been two years since the engineering manager passed away and his family still has no answers in the case.
In March, the family initiated a civil lawsuit against DeJongh’s girlfriend, Natasha Vadasz, but it was withdrawn last week. This was to incorporate both an additional defendant and plaintiff into the complaint.
Shane DeJongh died on October 6, 2023 at the Cheshire, Connecticut, home where he resided with his girlfriend Natasha Vadasz (pictured together)
DeJongh was found dead in his bed in the three-bedroom, 1,495sqft home the morning after he and Vadasz had gone out for drinks with their realtor
According to the lawsuit, which was reviewed by the Courant, Vadasz, 51, had put her three-bedroom, 1,495-square-foot house in Cheshire up for sale shortly before DeJongh’s death.
The couple were preparing to relocate to Georgia after DeJongh accepted a new job offer there.
They went out for drinks with their realtor the night he died to celebrate what they believed would be the next chapter in their lives.
But he was found dead in his bed the next morning, still wearing the clothes he went out in.
Investigators initially believed he suffered a ‘heart attack’, but the coroner later ruled the death was a homicide.
Van Ekelenburg claims the family suspects they know who is responsible for her brother’s death – though did not explicitly name this individual.
‘We don’t know what really happened that night,’ she told the newspaper.
‘It’s like trying to put a puzzle together without all the pieces. But whatever the case is, Shane was the only one with injuries that night.’
An autopsy confirmed that DeJongh, aged 53, sustained multiple skin contusions on his head, an abrasion on his left ear, and had suffered a brain hemorrhage and a fracture in part of his neck.
Vadasz’s house sold in March last year and she moved out-of-state, public property records reveal.
She has not been charged with any crime and no arrests have yet been made in DeJongh’s case.
Vadasz, however, is named as a defendant in the family’s withdrawn civil suit, which seeks monetary and punitive damages, as well as other associated costs.
His sister Robyn van Ekelenburg (pictured with DeJongh) claims she immediately suspected foul play when she flew in from California to see his body and saw there was ‘something wrong with his neck’
She declined the Courant’s request for comment, referring the newspaper to her attorney.
DeJongh family attorney Kenneth Krayeske confirmed the suit was withdrawn last week so that the engineer’s daughter, Zoey DeJongh Quinn, could be added as a plaintiff.
An additional defendant will also be added to the complaint, although Krayeske did not reveal their identity.
The attorney said the lawsuit is not aiming to get an arrest, but instead to get ‘damages for the family from this terrible wrong that they’ve suffered’.
Cheshire Police Chief Frederick Jortner in a statement to the Daily Mail, confirmed a ‘comprehensive investigation’ into DeJongh’s death has been conducted.
Investigators carried out ‘multiple interviews and extensive forensic analysis’.
‘At this time, the incident remains an active and ongoing investigation under the direction of the State’s Attorney’s Office, Part A, New Haven,’ Jortner told the Daily Mail on Monday.
‘No further details will be released at this time in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the state’s attorney’s office, Krayeske and attorneys for Vadasz for further information.
DeJonghan accomplished musician who wrote and composed songs across several genres of music. He also performed at multiple fundraiser events, his obituary states
DeJongh had a passion for boating and fishing, and is said to have caught ‘countless bass and other exotic fish’
DeJongh grew up in California and moved to Connecticut in 2020 after accepting a position with circuit board manufacturer APCT, Inc.
He had a ‘strong work ethic’ and was a creative-minded individual who was ‘continuously involved in projects’, his obituary states.
The engineer was also an accomplished musician who wrote and composed songs across several genres of music. He also performed at multiple fundraiser events.
He had a passion for boating and fishing, and is said to have caught ‘countless bass and other exotic fish’.
He also enjoyed home improvement projects, gardening, camping, traveling, cooking and entertaining.
‘Shane put love into everything he did and had had a passion for life,’ his obituary states.
