Body Found in Middlebury Park

This article was written by Daniel DeBlasio

The body of a middle-aged man was found in the upper parking lot of Bristol Park in Middlebury on Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, officers were called to the Middlebury Road park shortly after 3:15 p.m. when an individual saw a body laying next to a vehicle. When police responded they found a deceased white male in his fifties with a handgun close to his body.

Middlebury Police were joined by Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime and an investigator from the State's Attorney's Office at the crime scene. Several suspicious bottles of chemicals were found and a bucket of an unknown substance was found near the body. The CT DEEP Haz-Mat unit was called and following tests determined the substance was dangerous, according to police.

At this point police are not suspecting foul play and law enforcement is working on identifying the individual, who police say is not from the area. An autopsy is expected to take place Thursday by the Chief State's Medical Examiner.