Murder in Woodstock

Cause of Death

The Connecticut State Police were obligated, under the laws of jurisdiction, to hand Judy Nilan's body and the crime scene at the Spinney estate over to the Massachusetts State Police, but were still involved in the investigation itself.

Looking at the evidence, adding it up, it appeared Scott Deojay had struck Judy with his car—maybe even by accident—and then, trying to cover up that crime, hid her body. Then again, with the obvious signs of sexual assault at the crime scene, investigators believed, and the circumstances surrounding how she was found "hog tied," with her pants pulled down to her ankles, some believed Deojay had perhaps stalked Judy for a period of time and then carried out a plan to attack her.

"We don't believe," Marty Graham told me, "that Deojay struck her with any force with his car. There were tire marks left on the road. Sometimes, tire marks are tough to gauge. One theory was that Deojay knew her route. Had seen her jogging before. Most people are creatures of habit. Could he have come racing up and locked up his brakes and stopped her on the road? ... She probably stopped running and Deojay jumped out of his car and punched her because of the small amount of blood at the primary scene (Brickyard Road). He then would have somehow gotten her into his car. Now, remember, we later found a small amount of blood on the rear passenger's side door of his car. When he gets her in the car, we believe, he drives her to the Spinney estate, where he knows no one is home because the Spinneys are away traveling. He then drives through the gate and the driveway splits ... There was an outbuilding—half bathroom-changing room and the other half storage. There were unknown stains there that came back to Deojay after DNA testing. One theory was that he assaulted or attempted to sexually assault her in this building and then brought her up to the bench that was under the pagoda and just beat her and then dragged her up those stairs. It looked like he just left her there for dead. Horrific. Truly upsetting."

Even though Scott Deojay would never be charged with sexual assault, a source involved in the investigation later told me, "We knew that Miss Nilan was sexually assaulted. We found Mr. Deojay's DNA inside a [separate location] on the Spinney property. We also found his DNA on the he rope used to tie her up."

If Scott Deojay's defense was going to be that he had accidentally struck Judy Nilan and panicked, why, then, would his "DNA" be found on the Spinney premises near her body? Had he struck her with his car by accident and then decided to sexually assault her later? To investigators it made no sense.

Judy's body was transported from the crime scene to the medical examiner's office in Boston where a complete autopsy was conducted immediately. According to the M.E., Judy Nilan died from "blunt force trauma to the head and neck." These injuries, according to the report, "caused multiple fractures, subarachoid hemorrhage and brain contusion by manner of homicide."