Police: Former Caldwell Resident Killed Daughter

The Office of the Chief State of Connecticut's Medical Examiner officially ruled Monday the death of former Caldwell resident and student Amanda Dobrzanski a homicide.

Her father, Adam Dobrzanski, 55, is being held on $1 million bail after what officials are calling a murder-suicide plot at the Greenwich, Conn., estate where Adam Dobrzanski was a landscaper and his wife, Renata, was a live-in cook for the Sussman family. The estate is owned by hedge fund executive S. Donald Sussman, according to the Greenwich Time.

According to police, Amanda Dobrzanski's throat was fatally slashed Wednesday night and she died from what the medical examiner called an "incised wound to the neck." 

Police believe the incident may have been incited by Adam and Renata Dobrzanski's pending divorce, the Greenwich Time reported. On the night of the murder, Adam Dobrzanski sent suicidal text messages to his wife, who was with the Sussman family in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the Greenwich Time.

Renata Dobrzanski notified Greenwich police. When officers arrived, Adam Dobrzanski was found with self-inflicted, non life-threatening stab wounds to his body and throat and Amanda Dobrzanski was discovered dead in a locked bedroom, according to the Greenwich Time.

Amanda Dobrzanski, 20, and her older sister, Catherine, attended the Caldwell-West Caldwell school system. According to classmates.com, Amanda Dobrzanski graduated Washington Elementary School in 1999.

The family moved from Caldwell to New York where Dobrzanski attended James I. O'Neill High School in Highland Falls, N.Y., a small town just south of West Point along the Hudson River in Orange County.

According to the Greenwich Time, the family then moved to Connecticut three years ago where Dobrzanski graduated from Greenwich High School in 2007. She then attended the University of Rhode Island, where she was a psychology major and was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, the oldest and largest freshman honor society in the country, during the 2007-08 school year for having a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher.

A Facebook page established in Dobrzanski's memory reads:

"For those of us who knew Amanda, her life tragically ended on December 30th. She was an amazing person who took the world by storm. She had an infectious laugh that would light up a room. She was an amazing soccer player and an extremely bright student. She was 20 years young, a student at the University of Rhode Island and graduating this upcoming summer. 

I cannot sum up all of who she was so this group is for everybody to remember her and leave memories that you both shared together. 

Amanda, you will be missed by all. My deepest sympathy goes out to all of your family and friends. Hold it down for all of us up there. I cannot wait to see your smiling face. RIP" 

Renata and Catherine Dobrzanski have declined to comment on the alleged murder.

Officials from the Caldwell-West Caldwell school district have not returned messages for comment.

Visit the Greenwich Time for full stories on Adam Dobrzanski's arraignment in Connecticut State Superior Court Monday, a memorial placed at the Greenwich estate and friends remember Amanda Dobrzanski.