What to Know
-
The husband of a woman found dead in the couple's upscale Connecticut home earlier this month has been charged with murder[hhmc]
-
Allen Claxton, 74, surrendered to authorities in connection with the June 11 discovery of his wife's body; she was also 74[hhmc]
-
Stamford is not known for violence. It had its first homicide in 18 months in late May[hhmc]
New details are being revealed in the chilling death of a 74-year-old Connecticut woman who was found in a pool of blood, her neck stabbed three times with a kitchen knife, next to her own bed earlier this month.
The arrest warrant for Eden Claxton's 75-year-old husband, Allen, was unsealed Friday — and it paints a picture of a man prosecutors allege was desperate to end medical and financial struggles by murder-suicide.
Emergency crews responding to a 911 call from Allen Claxton the morning of June 11 found Eden Claxton's butchered body in the master bedroom of their upscale Hycliff Terrace home in Stamford home. Allen Claxton was at the top of the stairs calling for them to come to him, according to the arrest warrant. Police arrived.
Allen Claxton had a rope around his neck and told them someone had grabbed him from behind and tried to strangle him; his white T-shirt and white shorts were covered in what appeared to be blood, the warrant says. He had two swollen eyes, which were black and blue, a swollen tongue, cuts to his left hand and blood on his face — and was taken to a hospital to be treated for his injuries, according to court records.
Investigators went to the master bedroom. There they found Eden Claxton, barely clothed, her right arm bent over her neck with a fist in a clenched position as if she had desperately tried to stop the bleeding.
Inches from her body was a kitchen knife about 8 to 10 inches long, and it appeared someone had tried to wipe off the blood. There was blood on the sheets and pillow on her side of the bed, blood on the window frame, blood on the floor — and an apparent effort to wipe it clean with two tissues, the arrest warrant says.
Officers noticed apparent drops of blood on the stairwell leading downstairs and followed them; they found blood on the outer kitchen door handle and lock leading to the side of the house, and more apparent blood that seemed to have been cleaned up on the floor in front of the door. In the kitchen there was a butcher block of knives; it was full.
The cops then went to the basement, where they found another butcher block of knives. That one had knives missing. Nothing else was disturbed.
According to the arrest warrant, Allen Claxton told cops he and Eden were in bed around 7 a.m. that day and they heard a noise like something fell off a shelf. He went downstairs to check it out, saw nothing unusual and came back upstairs with a knife. When he reached the top, he says he felt something slip around his neck and then passed out. When he awoke about three minutes later in one of the home's bedrooms, not the master, he didn't have the knife. He went into the master bedroom and saw his wife in a pool of blood, the arrest warrant says. He called 911.
Allen Claxton told officers he didn't see who choked him. He also kept asking where his wife was and was eventually told she was dead. He went on to tell officers his wife had breast cancer, glaucoma and other ailments, while he was battling his own blood disorder, but, when asked, denied that he or his wife would be driven to suicide by their illnesses.
An emergency room doctor reported to police that Allen Claxton's injuries were consistent with a "botched hanging." Investigators challenged Allen Claxton's account of a third party assailant; they asked how he cut such deep lacerations to his hand that he needed stitches and he said he didn't remember, according to the arrest warrant.
A search of the home found handwritten notes by Allen Claxton that conveyed research of suicide and murder; others indicated a financial strain with a desperation to relieve that strain, the arrest warrant says. A review of Allen Claxton's email accounts found personal thoughts on depression, anxiety and murder/suicide, the arrest warrant says.
One email stood out. According to the arrest warrant, it said, in part, "Every day is the same slipping towards the event which will shatter our lives. I spend every day paying bills and watching our money disappear. To be foreclosed from the place which has been home for thirty years and with no knowledge of how to live anywhere else is paralyzing. This is why life continues unchanged hoping for some miracle. The only way out of this is an (sic) to create an horrific event where we both die at the same time. We are elderly and if we were younger the plan would be different. We are alone and the few friends we have will be horrified but they are not family members and the shock will pass. Our children did not see us frequently and we are not part of their lives."
"Taking your own life is not something I ever contemplated but I also never planted (sic) to become so destitute. I have never felt anything other than love for my wife so helping her with her own death is a (sic) tragic and fills me with guilt," the email said.
Investigators learned Eden Claxton had stage 2 breast cancer and was scheduled for a mastectomy June 20, nine days after she was found dead.
Allen Claxton was arrested this week. He pleaded not guilty to murder and was released after posting $1.5 million bond. His attorney confirmed those facts Thursday when News 4 New York reached out for comment.
Seph Lawless
Allen Claxton also had to surrender his passport and was ordered not to leave the state without permission.
[contf] [contfnew] 
NBC
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
