Fairfield resident Barry James, the man who was murdered in August for allegedly molesting a two-year-old girl, is believed to be innocent, according to a statement issued by Fairfield police last month.
James’s exoneration came nearly seven weeks after investigators began looking into the motive behind his murder, allegedly committed by the girl’s father, Jonathan Edington.
“We’re confident in the fact that Barry James did not molest the Edingtons’ daughter,” Fairfield Police Capt. Gary MacNamara told the Fairfield Minuteman.
The Aug. 28 murder shocked the Fairfield community and raised questions about why such a violent crime occurred in a town known for its safe neighborhoods and lack of crime.
MacNamara said, “We did a thorough investigation and were unable to locate any evidence [of molestation]. [James] is an innocent victim of homicide.”
The molestation charge was filed by Jonathan Edington’s wife, Christina Edington, three days after James’s murder, according to the Minuteman.
Jonathan Edington, a 29-year-old patent lawyer who moved to the area with his wife and two children just a year earlier, became enraged after hearing the accusation that James molested his daughter.
He allegedly climbed through his neighbor’s window and stabbed him repeatedly. Edington was found by Fairfield police shortly after the murder washing blood from his hands at his kitchen sink.
Edington had called police several months earlier to report seeing James “not fully clothed” through the window, though he never filed a formal complaint.
He is currently free on $1 million bail and pled not guilty to murder and burglary charges on Oct. 10. According to the Minuteman article, prosecutors are anticipating that Edington may use the defense that he was under “extreme emotional disturbance” when he committed the murder, which may decrease his murder charge to first-degree manslaughter.
His trial is set to begin Dec. 19.
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