UPDATE 3:15 P.M.
Prosecutors have determined that deadly force was necessary when New Fairfield resident Jeffrey Giuliano shot and killed his son in September, 2012 while under the impression that the teenager was a burglar, according to a report on the investigation released Friday.
The report said Giuliano believed that he was in imminent danger because his son, Tyler Giuliano, 15, who was dressed in black and wearing a black ski mask, had a metal object in his hand that was later determined to be a knife. The lighting was too dim for Giuliano to determine if the object were a knife or a gun, the report states.
The report also noted that Tyler kept advancing towards his father after the elder Giuliano had instructed the teenager to “freeze,” and “was well within reach of a potential bullet strike if the subject had been armed with a gun and fired at him.”
The investigation, however, failed to find a motive as to why Tyler, who was found with a roll of duct tape underneath his arm, was attempting to break into his aunt’s home.
While the report state’s that Giuliano, the teen’s father, was understandably concerned that night because a sexual assault had recently occurred in the neighborhood and that a suspect was still at large, his son, Tyler was not believed to be responsible for the assault.
To read the full report click here: Report_of_the_States_Attorney_Danbury_March_2014
NEW FAIRFIELD — Jeffrey Giuliano will not face charges as a result of shooting his adoptive son Tyler Giuliano in September 2012 while under the impression the 15-year-old was a burglar, a source said.
A source with the state’s attorney’s office confirmed that charges will not be filed against Giuliano in the case that has been investigated and reviewed over more than a year.
A full report on the investigation is expected later today.
According to police, 15-year-old Tyler Giuliano, dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask, was fatally wounded by his father in the morning hours of Sept. 27, in an incident that made national headlines and shook the small town of nearly 14,000. Jeffrey Giuliano told investigators that he had fired on what he suspected was a burglar.
It was only later that he was informed that he had, in fact, shot his own son.
Investigators have said that the father walked over to check on his sister’s house that night because she was concerned that someone was trying to break in.
Giuliano confronted the masked youth — who police said brandished a weapon — and shot him dead.
When police arrived, they found Jeffrey Giuliano sitting on the grass, mere feet from where his son’s body lay sprawled on the driveway, authorities said.
Reached Friday, Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky, who oversaw the investigation, declined comment.
