Midnight Stabbing Victim Found Just Feet Away From Choate Campus
By Greg Chung ‘08
News Staff Reporter
On Thursday April 13th, the relative peace of Wallingford, CT, a town once thought of as safe, was broken by an early morning act of violence resulting in the severe injury of a young man. The man was stabbed multiple times and left for dead. The victim was identified as 27-year-old Jeremy Garrison and is now listed in fair condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery.
Twenty-year-old Christopher Neary was accused of the crime and arrested by the Wallingford Police Department the next day. Neary is facing first-degree assault charges and is currently awaiting trial.
The Wallingford Police Department has discovered from their investigation that the stabbing occurred after a heated quarrel between the suspect and the victim the night of April 12th at Colony Pizza House off of Center Street. Various sources testified that the motive of the fight was over a woman. According to police, both the victim and suspect had had more than a few drinks that night and were believed to be acquaintances.
According to the Wallingford Police, at about 2 a.m. on the morning of April 13th, a patrol car discovered Garrison bleeding on the ground near Moses Y. Beach Elementary School just feet from Steele Hall where hundreds of Choate students attend language classes each day. Paramedics transported the victim to Yale New Haven Hospital without delay where he immediately went into surgery. “He was laying on the grass. The officer got out to assist the subject and he noticed he was stabbed multiple times and had some defensive wounds,” says Lt. Roger Howard of the Wallingford Police Department.
It is believed that the 27-year-old victim carried his wounds to the elementary school, leaving a trail of blood more than 100 feet long. The victim was stabbed at least six times and his injuries were so severe that he was not physically capable of cooperating with Wallingford Police detectives for over a day.
Beginning early on during the morning of the assault, detectives were busy searching for evidence and much of North Orchard Street was blocked off. The detectives went door to door interviewing the neighbors and looking for eyewitnesses. “I was very surprised to wake up a few hours later to see cop cars sitting in my driveway, as a matter of fact,” says Fran Perry, a resident of Wallingford who lives near the crime scene.
The townspeople of Wallingford were shaken by this unusual incident. “Years ago we could keep our doors open, but I guess not anymore. You’re not safe anywhere,” says Jaqueline Newcombe, a local neighbor.
Choate Campus Security did not react with much alarm to this situation despite the fact that the incident took place very close to campus. Campus Safety has said that they have no plans to change anything and will continue on with their routine nightly patrols.
