Danbury police re-arrest man accused in another 1989 cold case

Danbury police have re-arrested a man accused of abducting an 11-year-old for another crime that also happened decades ago.

Authorities announced that they made an arrest in a 1989 cold case in October 2024, and later said they were looking for a second suspect in connection with the incident.

Stream Connecticut News for free, 24/7, wherever you are.

  WATCH HERE

David Coffey, 53, was arrested for a second time on Wednesday after investigators identified a second victim. He now faces charges for a similar, but separate incident that also happened in 1989, according to police.

Investigators are looking into several similar crimes that happened in the late 1980s and they are asking anyone with information to come forward.

Get top local Connecticut stories delivered to you every morning with the News Headlines newsletter.

  SIGN UP

Danbury police said detectives investigated a series of crimes in the late 1980s that alarmed the neighborhood in the area of Lake Avenue/Merrimac Street, including the abduction and rape of female residents, and those cases went cold.

Those cases were reopened in November 2023 when one of the victims contacted the Danbury Police Department Special Victims Unit.

The investigation included more interviews of people who the original investigators identified and resources that were not available in the late 1980s, police said.

Local

Vernon 3 hours ago

Serious injuries reported in crash on Route 30 in Vernon

Meriden 3 hours ago

Meriden students honor detained classmate at graduation

With help from the Danbury State's Attorney and the State Police Forensic Laboratory, police said they identified Coffey, who lived in the area during the late 1980s, as a suspect.

Coffey was initially arrested in October, and he faces charges in connection with a 1989 abduction and rape.

He is facing a new first-degree kidnapping charge for his involvement in an abduction and sexual assault that happened on Jan. 9, 1989. He's being held on a $750,000 bond.

People who might know something about the incidents are being asked to call Det. John Basile at 203-797-4668, the Danbury Police Investigative Services Bureau at 203-797-4662 or the anonymous Tips Line at 203-790-TIPS (8477).