Re: 11/10/01 - NH Register: Arrests bring relief to family of slain man
Front Page
Arrests bring relief to family of slain man
Ann DeMatteo, North Bureau Chief November 10, 2001
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Philip Cusick's mother, Joann Cusick, and his brother, Matthew Cusick. Jeff Holt/Register
NORTH HAVEN — Little things still bring joy to Joann Cusick, but after the happy moment passes, the pain wells up once more.
It's a pain that never leaves the heart or mind of a mother who buried a child, a mother who, until last week, could never put a face to the man who pulled the trigger.
That changed last week with the arrest of two New Haven men in connection with the 1996 murder of her son, Philip Cusick.
"I feel there is a closure," Joann Cusick said Friday. "There's a name with who pulled the trigger, and he needs to be punished. But the heartache stays in this heart every day."
On Nov. 5, 1996, Philip Cusick was shot while he was riding in the car of an acquaintance who was trying to buy drugs near Dover Street in New Haven.
The deal soured and the acquaintance, William Clark, drove off after shots rang out, police said. Hours later, Clark left Cusick's body on the shoulder of the road across the street from his parents' house on Pool Road in North Haven, police said. A neighbor coming home from work at 1:45 a.m. Nov. 6 found the body of Cusick, who was 23.
Last Friday and Saturday, days before the fifth anniversary of the crime, New Haven police, with cooperation from North Haven police, arrested Jose Rivera, 28, and Demetrius Cox, 31, both of New Haven in connection with the slaying.
Cox faces charges of first-degree assault, narcotics sales and conspiracy and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Rivera was arraigned last Friday on murder, narcotics and weapons charges. He is being held in lieu of $2 million bail and was brought to court from prison, where he is serving a nine-year sentence for a crash that killed a 13-year-old.
Joann Cusick and her son, Matthew Cusick, said they have endured an enormous amount of stress in the five years that it's taken for arrests to be made in the case.
While the Cusicks were living with the pain of losing a son and brother, they were unaware that in February 1998 an informant gave New Haven police a statement naming Cox and Rivera as possible suspects in the killing. The information wasn't forwarded to North Haven police until last year, prompting accusations of a police cover-up, according to a grand jury investigation.
The Cusicks are suing retired New Haven Police Capt. Brian Sullivan, who was arrested for tampering with evidence, and four other current and former detectives.
The New Haven Superior Court case claims that the New Haven Police Department's conduct during the investigation inflicted emotional distress on the family.
The Cusicks and a family friend, Bob Mazurek of North Haven, said they want to dispel the idea that Philip Cusick was a drug user because he was with Clark.
"My son's name was dragged through the mud every day in the newspaper," she said.
Matthew Cusick, a union electrician, said the lack of a resolution for so long caused more stress in his life. He now gets anxiety attacks and feels like his life has been on hold.
"I was a brother then. Now I'm at a loss because of someone else. But there's relief that the shooters will finally be brought to justice," he said.
To cope with the trauma, Joann Cusick said she hangs on to the good memories. Then she realizes she'll never see Philip again, "and you're back to your terrible memories."
"Somebody took my love away from my heart. For us, nothing will be the same. You live with it, every day of your life," she said.
©New Haven Register 2001
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