Vermont State Police are investigating the suspicious death of Noel A. Neely, 82, after officers found her dead inside her Norwich home on Douglas Hill Road on Saturday morning. Police identified Neely on Monday afternoon and said the case remains open and active.
Officers responded at about 10 a.m. Saturday to a report of a deceased woman at 48 Douglas Hill Road and found Neely inside the home. Investigators said the death occurred under potentially suspicious circumstances, but added that everyone associated with the matter is accounted for and there is no identified danger to the public.
The autopsy will be performed at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington to determine the cause and manner of death. State police said they are working with the Windsor County State’s Attorney’s Office regarding the details and circumstances of the case, and Norwich police are assisting as well.
Neely was not just a Norwich resident. She served three terms in the Vermont House in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and she also worked as the office manager in her husband’s practice. Town property records list the Douglas Hill Road home as belonging to Donald and Noel Neely.
The investigation now turns on what the autopsy shows and what witness accounts may add, if anything, to a case police have already said is being treated as suspicious. Vermont State Police asked anyone with relevant information to call the Royalton Barracks at 802-234-9933 or submit an anonymous tip online.
