Police Still Confident 2-Year-Old Murder Will be Solved

It's been two years since the sudden death of 17-year-old Kyle Schneider. On May 1, at about 7:40 pm, Kyle's body was found by his father in their home on Congress Street in Fairfield. Kyle had died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Fairfield Police investigated the case as a homicide, after a ruling by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington, and determined there was no forced entry to the home and nothing was taken. Given that a weapon wasn't found, foul play was suspected immediately.

Deputy Police Chief Gary MacNamara said last week that the investigation into Kyle's murder remains open and that progress has been made, but he referenced an earlier statement from police that not everyone who may have knowledge of Kyle's murder has cooperated with the investigation.

"We feel that we've made strides trying to solve it. We believe we're closer...We're still confident we'll be able to solve it," MacNamara said. "We still firmly believe there are other individuals who may have information of a significant nature, and we're still hopeful they will come forward."

MacNamara said police would like to release everything that investigators have learned about the case. He added, however, that detectives believe that would be counter-productive and may hurt the outcome of the case. MacNamara said he understands that Kyle's family and friends are particularly interested in seeing the case solved.

"I received a letter at headquarters today from a friend of Kyle's who expressed sadness over the anniversary, and how beloved Kyle was by many, and he also expressed frustration that the case is still not closed," MacNamara said last week. "We believe we're going to reach a closure."

Police Sgt. Hector Irizarry, who investigated Kyle's death as a detective, cited the case at a police ceremony two weeks ago as the one that most stands out in his mind. Irizarry said he would continue to work on the case even though he was now a patrol sergeant. "It doesn't mean because I'm a sergeant [and no longer a detective] that I won't continue working on it. I'll continue working on it and look forward to having a successful conclusion to that case," Irizarry said after the April 23 ceremony.

Tom Selander, a Warde High student who knew Kyle, said today that students still talk about Kyle's death, especially on the second anniversary of his murder last week, and that emotions over his death are still there. "It's definitely not as bad as when it first happened, but it's still there," he said.

Tom said he hopes police solve the case, though he added it had been quite a while since Kyle was murdered.

Sandy Selander, Tom's mother, said she saw billboards along Interstate 95 last year pleading for people with information about the case to come forward. She said the murder still troubles her. "I guess the hardest part for me, in a town like Fairfield, you have a false sense of security, thinking it won't happen. I think a lot of times we tend to forget that," she said. "I'm concerned that it's not solved, that there's somebody out there who's capable of doing it again."

"I think it's going to be a big sigh of relief when it's closed," Sandy Selander said, adding that it must be particularly hard on Kyle's family. "There's got to be justice at some time for them," she said.

MacNamara had released a statement immediately after Kyle's murder in which he asked people with knowledge of the case to come forward. "We believe there's somebody out there who has information...as to who caused it, or information that may lead us to who caused it," MacNamara said at the time. "And we're hoping that they come forward and help us out."

In the days after Kyle's murder, friends described the junior at Fairfield Warde High School as nice and outgoing, and his mother, Mary Schneider, said Kyle was headed for a career in music and hoped to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Memorials to Kyle were held at both Warde High and Wilton High School because Kyle's formative years were spent in Wilton.

Kyle and his father, Douglas Schneider, lived together in a rented pool house in the upscale Greenfield Hill section of Fairfield. Kyle played saxophone in the Warde High band and was part of a self-started band with two friends.

The appeal for people to come forward is still seen on a Facebook page that was set up after Kyle's murder.

The page, entitled "R.I.P. Kyle Schneider" and accessible today, is for anyone who wants to leave a message for the Schneider family or offer information about the case. The page description reads: "If you have any information regarding Kyle and his death, speak up because we need to get to the bottom of this."

Anyone with information about Kyle's murder can contact Fairfield Police Department's Detective Division at 203-254-4840.

Andrew Brophy, Fairfield Patch's editor, contributed to this report.