Norwich police search river for evidence related to murder

Norwich — The state police dive team scoured the Shetucket River Friday morning after Norwich police received a tip that evidence from an unsolved December murder may have been discarded in the waterway.

Sgt. James Tetreault said the divers were looking for evidence related to the Dec. 14 murder of Jaclyn Wirth. The 26-year-old was shot multiple times through the doorway of her Mohegan Commons Apartment around 1:42 a.m. that day. Her two young children, 2 and 7 years old, were home at the time.

No one has been arrested in the case. Days after the murder, Police Chief Louis Fusaro sent out an urgent plea for the public’s help in solving the homicide.

The Shetucket River runs through the east side of Norwich, meeting up with the Yantic River downtown. At that point, the river turns into the Thames, which runs into Long Island Sound. Access to the Shetucket is about one mile from Wirth’s East Baltic Street apartment.