Danbury man accused of interfering in Badaracco investigation ...

Danbury man accused of interfering in Mary Badaracco investigation to stand trial next week

By Ethan Fry
STAFF WRITERUpdated: 04/28/2009 11:47:51 PM EDT

DANBURY -- Ernest Dachenhausen, the city man charged last year with interfering in the investigation of Mary Badaracco's 1984 disappearance from Sherman, will begin standing trial on the charge next week.

Assistant State's Attorney John Malone and Dachenhausen's lawyer, Jennifer Tunnard, were in court Tuesday selecting jurors for the case. Testimony will begin Tuesday, Judge Paul Matasavage said in court, and is expected to end Friday.

According to information presented in court, Dachenhausen is accused of giving "false, incomplete and misleading" information to police from May to September 2007 concerning his excavation and burial of vehicles on a property on Farrell Road in Newtown that he owned at the time of Badaracco's disappearance.

Police believed a missing vehicle that once belonged to Badaracco was buried on the Farrell Road property, which was the subject of an excavation by police in September 2007.

Badaracco disappeared from the Sherman home she shared with her husband, Dominic, her two daughters and four stepchildren in August 1984, at the age of 38. The case has since been reclassified as a homicide.

Dachenhausen has said he knew Dominic Badaracco from work and hung around with one of Dominic's sons, but he had nothing to do with Mary Badaracco's disappearance.

Malone listed about 30 witnesses who could be called during the trial, but told potential jurors they "certainly" won't hear from all of them. Many are current

or retired law enforcement officers.

Contact Ethan Fry

at efry@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3477.