Middletown Police Investigating Local Homicide

Middletown police are currently investigating a homicide that occurred in town early Tuesday evening.

Middletown Police Department Chief Anthony Pesare said that an adult woman was killed in the incident. Police would not disclose her name, age or if she was a local resident. Police say they currently have a male suspect in custody but would not comment on whether the victim and suspect knew each other or had a relationship.

Rhode Island State Police, in conjunction with the state attorney general's office, are also assisting the Middletown Police Department with the investigation, Pesare said. The entire department is working on the case, he noted.

Police would not release any further details about the victim until the woman's family was notified, nor would they reveal any details about the crime given the ongoing investigation.

Pesare confirmed that all events related to the murder occurred in Middletown, but declined comment about whether it's believed the murder occurred on Hanging Rock Road or elsewhere.

At the Residence Inn Marriott on West Main Road, General Manager and Director of Operations Jeff Miller confirmed the hotel was cooperating with police in connection with the investigation and that an incident had occurred there earlier in the day that had prompted an employee to call 911. He declined to elaborate further given the ongoing investigation.

Around 11 p.m. Tuesday night outside the Residence Inn, a tow truck was seen loading a car onto its flatbed as a Rhode Island State Police cruiser waited nearby and then escorted it from the lot with its lights flashing.

Late Tuesday night, the stretch of Hanging Rock Road that runs between the Norman Bird Sanctuary and Gardiner Pond remained blocked off by police barricades as the investigation continued into the night.

Middletown and state police investigators were also seen at a designated crime scene in the driveway of a residence in the 400 block of Third Beach Road.

Pesare stated that the house and residents at that location "have nothing to do with the incident," but that police are investigating a vehicle located there in that driveway, he said.

Beginning between 5 and 5:30 p.m., Middletown and Newport Police Department cruisers blocked off Hanging Rock Road at the intersections of Sachuest Point Road and Third Beach Road, preventing any traffic or pedestrians from entering the site, witnesses said. Pesare noted that the Newport Police Department's role was in providing assistance in securing the road and that at this point it's not believed any events related to the homicide took place in Newport.

Shortly after 7 p.m., a group of three Middletown Police Department cruisers were seen blocking off the parking lot at Third Beach just around the corner from the investigation scene. The Middletown Police Department's Mobile Command Center also arrived at the Third Beach lot at that time.

It was not known if police were securing the Third Beach lot as a potential secondary crime scene or as a command post for the duration of the investigation just 1/4-mile away.

A police officer in the lot outside the Mobile Command Center said only that he expected the investigation to continue throughout the night.

A motorist who had been in the area of Green End Avenue and Third Beach Boulevard said that shortly after 5 p.m., he had seen a Middletown Police Department cruiser in high speed pursuit of another car. Several minutes later, he saw several additional Middletown Police Department cruisers also speeding toward the Third Beach Road area toward the beaches.

Two neighbors within the vicinity of the investigation scene outside the police perimeter near Hanging Rock Road said they'd heard unconfirmed reports of a domestic violence incident that involved a car chase. Police would not comment on any such reports.

No further information was available at this time.

Patch will continue to follow this story as it develops.