Among the “red flags” a State Police detective noticed when interviewing Kyle Navin about his then-missing parents was a lack of concern.
Navin, 30, now stands accused of the murders of his father, Jeffrey, co-owner of J&J Refuse of Westport, and mother, Jeanette, a longtime paraprofessional at Weston public schools. The couple, longtime residents of Weston, had recently moved to Easton when they were reported missing in August 2015. Their bodies were found that October, buried under leaves in a yard at an abandoned home in Weston. Both had been shot.
During a hearing at state Superior Court in Bridgeport Thursday, March 29, State Police Det. Christopher Allegro described his initial interview with the defendant at Troop G Barracks in Bridgeport on Aug. 12, 2015.
By that time, Navin’s parents hadn’t been seen since Aug. 4, so they were already missing for over a week.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Corradino asked Allegro Thursday if Navin expressed “concern or emotion with respect to the fact that his parents were missing for so long?”
“Not in my opinion,” Allegro said of his first interview. “He was talking about other topics, other than the fact that his parents were missing.”
Allegro also found odd Kyle Navin’s actions with his cell phone.
Rather than silence his cell phone, Allegro said Navin turned it off. At that time in the investigation, Navin had not been accused of any crime, Allegro said, and would have been free to accept a call or contact his attorney, yet he chose to turn the phone off.
Then, with the phone turned off, Navin attempted to recall text conversations without referring to messages stored on the phone.
“He was trying to go off memory instead of powering up his phone,” Allegro said. “He was less than forthcoming with showing us the phone.”
Allegro said Navin’s behavior made him want to take his phone to learn about the conversations he had with his parents. Allegro said Navin’s cell phone would have provided more definite information on the parts of the conversation about which Navin was vague.
Allegro said he “had to redirect the discussion back to the topic of the investigation.”
The detective described Navin’s demeanor during the first interview as “open,” “light,” saying Navin “made eye contact,” and calling the meeting “rapport building.”
Navin is charged with two counts of murder and one count of murder under special circumstances, for the shooting deaths of his parents. Police allege that Kyle Navin was a heroin user and killed his parents because he was concerned he was going to be cut from their wills.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held in lieu of a $2.5 million bond.
During Thursday’s pretrial hearing, Navin, who was wearing a grey suit, white shirt and blue-patterned tie, sat to the right of his attorney, Eugene Riccio. Navin had his head down during the majority of the three-hour hearing, and was writing.
Judge Robert Devlin was presiding.
Mike DeJoseph, senior assistant state’s attorney, was also present in the hearing room, as well as Easton Police Chief Tim Shaw, who had been questioned before Allegro.
Navin’s trial begins Tuesday, April 17, at state Superior Court in Bridgeport.