A year after Fairfield was rocked by news of the murder of Barry James, his next door neighbor Jonathan Edington was sentenced to 12 years in prison for first degree manslaughter.
Allegedly, Edington, the father of a two-year-old girl, accused James of molesting his daughter, and in a fit of rage, broke into James’s home and stabbed him to death.
The molestation charge was filed by Edington’s wife, Christina Edington, three days after James’s murder, according to the Fairfield Minuteman.
Edington had called police several months earlier to report seeing James “not fully clothed” through the window, though he never filed a formal complaint.
Police were never able to substantiate the claim, despite reports that Edington knew of his wife’s concerns regarding James’s interaction with their daughter.
According to police reports, Edington called for emergency medical personnel as James lay bleeding on his kitchen floor.
Edington had broken into the house that James shared with his parents, who had also contacted police after the stabbing.
According to an article from the Fairfield Minuteman, Judge Richard Comerford said the incident was a “Shakespearean tragedy brought into the real world.”
After hearing about Edington’s sentencing, Mike Garcia ’08 agreed.
“It makes sense because you can see the parallels of the guy being like a tragic hero figure trying to protect his daughter from what he thinks happened to her,” he said.
Comerford initially sentenced Edington to 20 years behind bars, but rescinded eight years of the sentence, leaving 12 years in prison plus five years probation.
According to news reports, both Edington, a former patent lawyer, and his wife, Christina, have been served with wrongful death lawsuits on the assertion that the false abuse claim incited the attack.
“It’s scary to think that something like that could have happened in Fairfield, but it’s good to know that justice was served,” said Gillian Bonynge ’08.
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