An esteemed engineer tragically passed away after sustaining severe injuries that caused such swelling he seemed to lack a neck. A new lawsuit claims he was involved in a physical altercation with his girlfriend’s son merely hours before his demise.

Shane DeJongh was found dead in his bed at his girlfriend’s storybook Connecticut cottage on October 6, 2023.

Initially, investigators suspected DeJongh, aged 53, died overnight from natural causes. However, an autopsy later identified his death as a homicide, revealing head and neck injuries from blunt-force trauma.

Despite the coroner’s findings, police have still not made an arrest or issued a warrant two years later.

DeJongh’s family filed a civil lawsuit against his former partner Natasha Vadasz, who owned the home he died in, last month.

The lawsuit has been updated to include both Vadasz and her 20-year-old son, Talon Vadasz-Buckhout, as defendants, as reported by The Daily Mail. No criminal charges have been filed against them by law enforcement.

The lawsuit accuses them of negligence, recklessness, and assault and battery, among other charges, which allegedly contributed to DeJongh’s death, according to the complaint submitted on Tuesday.

The suit also alleges that Vadasz-Buckhout had previously threatened the victim’s life, leaving DeJongh terrified that the young man might “murder me in my sleep” shortly before the deadly incident.

Vadasz, 51, had just put her three-bedroom, 1,495-square-foot home in Cheshire up for sale the day before DeJongh’s body was discovered.

The couple were planning to relocate to Georgia after DeJongh accepted a new job offer, the late engineer’s sister Robyn van Ekelenburg told the Daily Mail.

They went out for ‘celebratory’ drinks with their realtor after officially listing the property, but when they returned home chaos broke out, according to the lawsuit.

Vadasz-Buckhout was arguing on the phone with his biological father and DeJongh tried to intervene and calm the situation, the complaint alleges. 

An argument broke out between the two and quickly escalated, with Vadasz-Buckhout allegedly ‘making physical contact’ with DeJongh and using ‘blunt force to inflict traumatic, fatal wounds.’

He was found dead the next morning, fully dressed in the clothes he had worn the night before, the complaint states.

The complaint further accuses Vadasz-Buckhout of having carried DeJongh to the upstairs bedroom and ‘put him into the bed to hide the source of [his] injuries.’

The family claims Vadasz ‘had a duty to report her son’ to the police, but failed to do so, alleging in the suit that she and Vadasz-Buckhout ‘conspired to conduct and hide the homicide.’

DeJongh’s family immediately flew in from California after being notified that he died from a suspected heart attack.

But they became suspicious of foul play after seeing his body in the morgue and realizing something was wrong with his neck.

‘His neck looked distorted. His face looked swollen,’ van Ekelenburg told the Daily Mail. ‘You could see the black eyes, you could see the damage to the side [of his face] – like his ear and his head – but he didn’t look like he had a neck.’

DeJongh had several skin contusions on his head, an abrasion on his left ear and had suffered a brain bleed, according to the autopsy report obtained by the Daily Mail.

He also had a hemorrhage in his neck and fractured his ‘left superior cornu of the thyroid cartilage,’ the report stated.

The coroner determined DeJongh died of a ‘cardiac arrhythmia following physical altercation with blunt injuries of head and neck, complicating hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.’

Police have conducted a ‘comprehensive investigation’ into DeJongh’s death, Cheshire Police Chief Frederick Jortner confirmed. Investigators have carried out ‘multiple interviews and extensive forensic analysis.’

The investigation is still active and ongoing under the direction of the State’s Attorney’s Office. Jortner declined to provide further details about the case, citing a need to ‘preserve the integrity of the investigation’.

The New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed it is ‘currently conducting a thorough review’ of all materials and records related to the case. ‘As this is an active and ongoing investigation, no further details will be released at this time,’ a spokesperson added.

Van Ekelenburg filed a civil lawsuit against Vadasz in March this year, but it was withdrawn and amended last week so that Vadasz-Buckhout could be added as a defendant.

DeJongh’s daughter Zoey DeJongh Quinn was also added as a plaintiff in the case.

The amended complaint accuses the mother-son duo of presenting ‘unreasonable’ and ‘excessive danger’ to DeJongh’s life.

The suit alleges Vadasz-Buckhout had a ‘known propensity for violence’ toward others and himself. The defendant, who according to the complaint was trained in mixed martial arts, also allegedly threatened DeJongh’s life earlier in 2023.

The threat was made during a verbal argument between the then-teen and his mother, the complaint states.

Vadasz-Buckhout had ‘disobeyed’ Vadasz and was speaking to her in a disrespectful manner when DeJongh stepped in, the family claims in the complaint.

He then allegedly began arguing with DeJongh, grabbed a fishing spear off the wall and ‘assumed an attack stance.’ 

Although the conflict was resolved without physical violence, the threat left DeJongh feeling ‘scared,’ the complaint states.

DeJongh even told his daughter when recounting the incident: ‘Now I gotta wait for that little motherf***** to murder me in my sleep.’

The family believes that DeJongh would still be alive today if Vadasz and her son had called authorities sooner.

‘Why weren’t the police called immediately?’ van Ekelenburg questioned. ‘If the police were called, I totally believe this would be all different and Shane would still be here.

‘It’s just negligence, you know? Like, why… why wouldn’t you call?’

Her and Quinn’s lawsuit is seeking both monetary and punitive damages, as well as other associated costs.

‘We’re hoping for justice – and that is justice in every and all capacity that we can get,’ van Ekelenburg said.

Their attorney Kenneth Krayeske 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.’ 

But van Ekelenburg is ‘optimistic’ about the civil case and hopes that any findings from it will help them gain more knowledge for a criminal pursuit.

‘This is very frustrating for us. We have questions and we want answers,’ van Ekelenburg said. 

She alleges the family has contacted the state’s attorney’s office ‘countless times’ in search of an update on DeJongh’s case, but cannot get one.

‘We have a homicide. We have one person with injuries. We have video evidence that the son posted of this fight – or this assault,’ she continued. The Daily Mail was not able to independently verify the existence of the alleged videos.

‘It wasn’t just a fight. Shane was the only one who sustained injuries. He died as a result of the injuries, and he was left in bed.

‘And that’s been really hard for us. Like, how long did he suffer? Like, how long was he there for?’

Vadasz declined to comment on the suit, referring the Daily Mail to her attorney. Her attorney has not responded to our requests for comment. 

The Daily Mail also reached out to Vadasz-Buckhout via social media, but did not receive a response.

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.

His sister hailed his compassion and love for helping others in a heartfelt tribute shared with the Daily Mail. 

‘Shane was a fisherman, chef and played in rock bands since as far back as I can remember,’ van Ekelenburg said.

‘He was the oldest sibling so all of our memories growing up included Shane. Shane was compassionate and empathetic and dedicated time volunteering.

‘To say we miss him does not adequately explain the loss.’