Body found in New Haven ID'd as missing woman
Denise Leary, 59, climbed out her bedroom window in New Haven on Sept. 30, 2024, and disappeared. For months, her son and her brother tried to figure out what happened to her.
Almost six months later, on March 21, someone clearing brush in a wooded area behind their house on Rock Creek Road near West Rock Ridge State Park in New Haven found human remains and called police. Four days later, those remains were identified as Denise Leary’s.
The body was in advanced stages of decay, police said. Her cause and manner of death are still pending further investigation by the medical examiner’s office. And police have yet to figure out how Leary died, how she ended up in the woods and whether anyone else was involved.
Leary grew up in Connecticut but later moved to Atlanta, where she raised her two children. She moved back to Connecticut in 2022 to take care of her parents and moved into their Rock Creek Road home.
Family members said she struggled with mental health issues, and on the day she disappeared, it appears she left the family home by climbing out the window of her bedroom, leaving the door to her room locked from the inside to prevent anyone else in the house from entering.
Family had paramedics break down the door to do a wellness check, but nobody was inside the room. It’s thought she was wearing her black blazer, a hat, black boots and brought a multi-colored tote bag with her when she disappeared, police said.
When they realized she was missing, family members tried to track Leary's phone and later went out searching for her in a local park. When she still hadn’t returned home the next day, they reported her missing to the police.
Police searched the West Rock area with drones and dogs and obtained surveillance footage from nearby stores where some family friends said they had seen her. They found some of her makeup near an abandoned house, but nothing inside the house. It is unclear if her bag was ever recovered.
A few days later, they found Leary’s cellphone behind a neighbor’s house. Police took the phone to be analyzed for evidence.
Police said there were no immediate signs of foul play involved in Leary’s disappearance. However, the case remains under investigation.
Anyone who may have information related to the case is asked to call the New Haven Police Department at 203-946-6304.