Who Is This Man? Police Say He Vandalized A Roadside Memorial

EAST LYME, CT —Police say this man stole items from, and vandalized, a roadside memorial for Frank Barabas, Jr., who was killed last July.

First, police were called on Nov. 9 and told that mementos were taken from the memorial on Boston Post Road, between Plants Dam and Miranda Way. Twelve days later, ,police were called again and told the same site had been vandalized, with items left for a loved one "thrown into" woods nearby.

Now, police have surveillance photos of the man they believe is responsible and are asking the public for help in finding out just who he is.

Police say the man was seen near the area of the roadside memorial between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Nov. 17 and are hoping someone knows more.

His sister Cherie Jewell wrote on Facebook that she and her family are heartbroken.

"... this is my brothers memorial, he was born on Christmas and my mom just cleaned the site and added some Christmas things to it the first time this guy took it down. We are all heart broken."

Barabas was killed in July when he and his motorcycle was hit by a car police say was driven by Kimberly Zoller. In October, police charged a 37-year-old Niantic woman with second-degree vehicular manslaughter in his death. Barabas was 42 and lived in Oakdale.

On July 28, at around 4:45 p.m. the East Lyme Police Department received the report of a car versus motorcycle accident in the area of 516 Boston Post Road.

Barabas was pronounced dead at the scene. Zoller, who was not named at the time, was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for treatment. East Lyme police said that as a result of an investigation, an arrest warrant was obtained for Zoller Thursday Oct. 10. She posted a court set $25,000 bond and was released. She's due back in court Jan. 13, 2020.

A father of three sons, Barabas was born in Milford and went to high school in East Haven with family members in Branford and New Haven.

His mother Carlene Barabas told Patch Monday night that she cannot "wrap my head around this."

"I just don't understand," Barabas said.

Calling her son Junior, she said that when he passed away, "1000 people were at his wake. No one has ever said anything out of the way about my son. Why would someone do this?"

Carlene said that she was told there's a lake nearby where kids "hang out back there, maybe drink and they almost had me convinced it was a kid that did this. But I can't picture that. Some kid thinking that's fun?"

She doubts that.

She said that the memorial, "just flowers and things" is more than just something "material; it's somebody's memory. What kind of person does this" And she worries that the man that police believe may be involved could be a danger: "Is he out there watching? Is this going to escalate? Does he have a gun? What will stop him from doing something ..."

Indeed, before a Patch interview with Carlene, she'd taken to Facebook to share her grief and pray the man is caught before he "escalates his actions."

Anyone with information is urged to contact Sgt Terry Saffioti at 860-739-5900.