Fairfield Man Accused Of Murder Found Dead In Storage Container

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield man charged with killing his ex-wife was found dead of an apparent suicide inside a storage container Tuesday night, according to police. James Taylor was accused of fatally shooting Catherine Taylor in February, but was out on $2 million bond and confined to his son's home in the 200 block of Bronson Road.

Just after 5 p.m. Tuesday, first responders learned that Taylor's GPS monitoring bracelet was receiving a low signal and, later, that the battery was dead, according to a police news release. Taylor also was not answering calls from court personnel, police stated in a Facebook post. Officers went to the Bronson Road residence to try to find Taylor and discovered he appeared to have barricaded himself inside a shipping container on the property, according to the post.

Police asked people to avoid the area and closed the nearby Interstate 95 ramp, the post stated. The Stamford Bomb Squad, Connecticut State Police and several other agencies assisted police in their response, according to the news release.

While officers were at the scene, they heard Taylor's cellphone ringing inside the container, which was locked from the inside, the news release stated. At no point did police make contact with Taylor, verbally or otherwise, according to Capt. Robert Kalamaras. Police eventually entered the container and found Taylor's body.

In a second Facebook post timestamped 10 p.m. Tuesday, police stated the property was secure and there was no threat to the public.

Taylor, 75, was accused of killing his ex-wife and assaulting his stepson Feb. 3 at his stepson's home on Catamount Road. He was charged with murder, assault, burglary and home invasion, court records state, and was scheduled to appear in court later this month. Taylor had been pursuing an insanity defense, according to the Connecticut Post.