Tragic news emerged this week as Tim Yergeau, the former director of strategic communications at the Southern New England branch of Planned Parenthood, reportedly took his own life amid a child porn investigation in Connecticut. Police have not officially confirmed Yergeau as the suspect in the investigation, but they did confirm that the person who committed suicide was the suspect in the case. Yergeau was 36 years old.
The incident came just five days after police raided Yergeau’s apartment building in New Haven, Connecticut, in connection to the child pornography investigation. However, the raid was a botched attempt, as officers broke down the door of Yergeau’s neighbour, Stacey Wezenter, handcuffing her before realizing their mistake.
Following the incident, the New Haven Police Chief, Karl Jacobson, requested an internal affairs investigation into the Special Victims Unit, which “obviously hit the wrong door”. The investigation will also examine how Yergeau took his own life following the raid.
Although the police have not officially named Yergeau as the suspect in the child pornography investigation, his neighbour and the state office of the chief state medical examiner confirmed that he died by suicide. Yergeau was hired as the Long Wharf Theatre’s Marketing and Communications Director in August 2022, and pictures on his Instagram show behind-the-scenes images of his work in the weeks after he started the job.
During his time at Planned Parenthood, Yergeau was part of an art-making and letter-writing workshop in the parking lot of PPSNE, where he wrote 247 “love letters” to abortion. In an interview with Hartford Business, Yergeau said he spent his entire career working in the arts, fundraising, and advocating for the arts. He stated that he liked making people laugh and making them think, and he hoped people would say, “He was funny” and “He always had something thoughtful to share.”
Following the botched raid, Yergeau’s neighbour, Stacey Wezenter, said she was traumatized and filed a complaint. She expressed concern for her safety and that of her children, who were home during the incident. Wezenter heard a boom at around 6 am and realized that the police had taken down her door and were searching her apartment with their guns drawn. They put her against the wall and handcuffed her, she said. When they saw her son’s toys, they realized they were in the wrong place.
Yergeau’s death is a tragic loss, and the investigation is ongoing, with two investigations still open. The police have not released information about what was found in Yergeau’s apartment until they are certain that no one else is involved in the case.
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Image credit: Instagram
