A recently formed group of Wiltonians seeks closure of the unsolved 2008 Nick Parisot case, which has been labeled a homicide.

Villager Staff Writer

WILTON — The gathering on the third anniversary of the homicide of Wilton teen Nick Parisot on Monday night in a field near Millstone Farm was a mixture of sadness, anger and laughter as about 150 family and friends remembered the young man who was taken away far too soon.

Audrey Klotz was the first to speak at the informal ceremony around the cairn at the edge of the field at the corner of Millstone Road and Tito Lane, where most of those gathered held candles in the gathering dusk.

“I didn’t know Nick very well, but I saw him grow up,” Klotz said. “I saw how loving and peaceful his parents were toward Nick. Peace on! Let’s think loving thoughts for his family and for Nick.”

Parisot, then 15 days shy of his 14th birthday, was killed when he struck a rope tied to trees across a trail while he was riding his motorized bike on a trail not far from where Monday’s remembrance took place. Police have labeled the case a criminal homicide.

Debbie Brown, who has lived in Wilton for 20 years, said there is one thing that will get everyone through this tragedy.

“We think of Nick every day,” Brown said. “My heart squeezes, and that hole never goes away. If you’re as in love with your kids as I am, you can begin to imagine the pain Nick’s family is feeling. The only thing that keeps you going is knowing that there is love in the world.”

The homicide investigation remains open but has stalled, as investigators have had difficulty getting cooperation from all those involved on that fateful day three years ago.

Bob Pollak, a troop leader with Boy Scout Troop 125, said no one will be at peace until all those who were privy to the horrific actions taken that day come forward and tell their stories.

“I played with Nick and had fun with Nick,” Pollack said. “If we all visualize justice, justice is going to be served. It’s not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’ People complicit in this crime are withholding the truth. Some young men are bound up withholding the truth. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. These kids won’t live a happy life until justice is served. Then, and only then, will Nick’s soul be at rest and he will be that happy wind rider we remember him to be.”

One of Nick’s uncles, Cary Nadel, has taken the premise of justice even further. Nadel believes the answers to Nick’s homicide moved to Orange County, Calif., with a family named in a civil suit in this homicide case.

In 2009, Parisot’s parents, Wilton residents Rick Parisot and Kate Throckmorton, of 274 Nod Hill Road, filed a civil suit against Glenn and Barbara Knight, formerly of Wilton, and their son, a minor, claiming the “willful and malicious conduct” of the minor caused the death of Nicholas Parisot.

Nadel has contacted a reporter at the Orange County Register newspaper in hopes that probing the case in the area east of Los Angeles could produce a much-needed break in the case.

“I’m an eye-for-an-eye guy,” Nadel said.

A call to the Knight family for this and another story about the case was not returned this past week.

Lucy Sandor said at the memorial that she was happy that her children knew Nick.

“I can’t help but feel, in the night air, Nick’s true love of nature,” Sandor said. “I’m so appreciative my kids spent time with Nick. He’ll always be here with us.”

Nathan Schmidt, a junior at Wilton High School, was succinct in telling people not to waste a minute of precious life.

“Nick didn’t have an opportunity to live his life,” Schmidt said. “Carpe diem. We have a great place to live. Don’t let that slip away.”

Nick Lee brought some laughter to the event when he spoke a couple of minutes after someone’s cell phone rang.

“When I heard the cell phone ring, I thought ‘that’s uncool,’” Lee said. “Then I thought about (the film) ‘It’s A Wonderful Life,’ where, when a bell rings, it means an angel gets its wings. When the cell phone rang, it means Nick got his wings.”

Alex Mirabile, a Wilton High School junior and one of Nick’s closest friends, acted as master of ceremonies for the hour-long event that ended with most people placing lit candles on edges of the cairn in a haunting tribute.

Mirabile thanked the Fink family and Millstone Farm for the use of the land for the ceremony. He then urged all in attendance to contact State’s Attorney David I. Cohen, 123 Hoyt St., in Stamford, (203) 965-5215 and ask why no arrest has been made in this case.

About this column: Things a Wilton mom thinks while she’s driving here and there. Feel free to contact Heather at patch.fromthedriversseat@gmail.com.

WILTON — A nature project that no one knew would be undertaken a little more than three years ago was recently completed by a group of Wilton High School juniors in the Quarry Head and Harrison Smith preserves. The project, which refurbished hiking trails and planted new growth in the preserves, was taken on in honor of Nicholas Parisot, also a member of the class of 2012 who was killed after his motorized bike struck a rope strung across a trail in the area on June 13, 2008.

The Wilton Land Conservation Trust (WLCT) arranged for the land that would be used, and under the direction of WLCT members Joe Philbrick, Steve White and Bruce Beebe, up to 60 teens went to work.

Most of those kids were involved in the first part of Project 2012 — each graduating class takes on different projects to raise money — which involved clearing a meadow in Harrison Smith Preserve of roots, invasive vines and other overgrowth, then replanting the area with wild flowers, grasses and an apple tree that is bearing fruit in its third season.

“You can’t put words on this project,” said Lauren Mirabile, the mother of Alex Mirabile, one of Parisot’s best friends and a driving force behind the project. “After Nick’s death three years ago, the kids were brought together, and we wanted to find property for all kids. They came together graciously to honor Nick. (The project) had to be something outdoors because Nick played here. This was perfect. It was outdoors, and it connected where Nick was rooted. Nick’s father cut the fields here. Nick lived in the woods and on the trails behind his grandmother’s house.”

Alex Mirabile, a member of the Wilton High School Class of 2012, was impressed with what his peers accomplished.

“The field wasn’t in good condition; there were lots of roots and vines,” he said. “The Land Trust helped get us the land in honor of Nick, and we came together. About 60 kids were clearing roots and vines on our best work day in March (2009). We came back in May, and after we were done seeding the meadow, we had a camp fire and cooked hot dogs and planted the apple tree. About 100 people turned out. I thought it would just be our class, but more people came, younger and older kids. It became more of a community effort.”

The next phase of the project was refurbishing some old trails and creating some new ones to connect the trail system through Harrison Smith and Quarry Head, and over the Brubeck Woods.

“It all started at the complete opposite of where we are now, in Brubeck Woods,” Alex Mirabile said at Quarry Head on Tuesday. “That was kind of our own playground. Nick and his father built those trails. It was so playful and harmless, and that’s why his death was so surprising. All the trails are connecting, after we built bridges (over an impassible wet trail).”

Lauren Mirabile said the project served multiple purposes.

“The gift Nick brought to these kids was the gift of nature and the gift of work,” she said. “He taught some kids to work for the first time. Most of them had never picked up a rock or clipped or raked. This was an opportunity to pay tribute and reflect about Nick. Unfortunately he died the last day of school, going from middle school to high school. This became a place of gathering, peace or closure. We hadn’t had that opportunity because the site became a crime scene. We wanted to remember Nick and his beautiful spirit.”

Invariably, the discussion turned to that fateful day almost three years ago. Lauren Mirabile said her son knew right away it was not an accident.

“When he heard what happened, that’s when Alex said ‘something’s wrong’ because Nick knew the trails better than anyone,” Lauren Mirabile said about the incident, which Wilton Police have labeled a criminal homicide. “Alex couldn’t believe it. (Nick’s father) Rick was incredible about safety and equipment. Alex knew something was up. The sad thing for Alex was he was invited to another party and was not with Nick that day. Does he carry any guilt with him? Maybe he thinks if he was there it would have been different.”

Lauren Mirabile also believes that someone in town has information that could help law enforcement make an arrest in the case.

“What makes me saddest is this case is being brushed under the carpet,” she said. “People in this town don’t want to sacrifice the town’s reputation and they’d rather it be swept away. Rick and Kate (Throckmorton, Nick’s mother) are not aggressive people. Who was going to fight their battle? People should get angry and demand justice. I think the (Wilton) detectives are incredibly embedded emotionally, but I don’t know if they have the resources to make a difference in this case. I still think they need to investigate every little word out of every person’s mouth. All it takes is a couple people saying ‘what we did was wrong.’”

As the third anniversary rapidly approaches, Lauren Mirabile finds solace where she can.

“It is hard to put any peace into this tragedy, but a gift was created from the spirit of this amazing boy,” she said. “Making good out of this is my spiritual way our of this, and my way of paying respects to Nick’s life.”

Parisot will again be remembered with a small memorial gathering on the Millstone Farm property, at the cairn at the corner of Millstone Road and Tito Lane, on Monday, at about 8 p.m., according to Lauren Mirabile.

With physical evidence exhausted, police and investigators turn their attention to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Wilton residents Rick Parisot and Katherine Throckmorton, of 274 Nod Hill Road, entered a complaint this summer against Glenn and Barbara Knight and their 12-year-old son, all of 97 Hickory Hill Road, in Stamford Superior Court.
On the afternoon of June 13, 2008, 13-year-old Nicholas Parisot was riding his motorized bike on a trail in a wooded area near Hickory Hill and Hillbrook roads and struck a rope strung across the trail. Parisot suffered severe fatal injuries to his neck and body, resulting in his death shortly thereafter.

“I think that the Parisots want to be able to find out what happened, and they want people to be held accountable,” said David Golub, Rick Parisot and Katherine Throckmorton’s attorney. “I think this case will do that.”

The legal complaint, which seeks $15,000 in damages, asserts the 12-year-old male allegedly “strung a rope across a trail in the area of the woods to the rear of his family’s property.” The court document states the pre-teen “tied the rope to two trees on each side of the trail to create a sudden and unavoidable blockage of the trail, creating a dangerous condition on the trail that he knew was likely to cause physical injury to persons riding motorized bikes on the trail.”

According to Golub, the information listed in the complaint came from several different sources after an investigation had been conducted.

“We did an investigation from many sources,” said Golub. “All I can say right now is that we are confident this information is accurate.”

The complaint, which was filed June 19, also states Nick Parisot’s “collision with the rope caused the rope to break and the 12-year-old defendant picked up the broken end of the rope and took it from the scene.”

The court documents state that members of the Wilton Police then undertook an investigation and interviewed the 12-year-old male, “who attempted to conceal his involvement … by giving false statements to the police concerning the location and nature of his actions.”

On Sept. 4, the Knight family answered the complaint, denying all allegations. Calls were made to Kevin Murphy, attorney of Glenn and Barbara Knight, and the Knight family for this story, but were not returned.

According to Wilton Police Lt. Don Wakeman, the police department does not want to comment specifically on the civil suit. He did say officers have interviewed numerous adults and children in the case, and the Knight family was included in those interviews. Wakeman said the police department was aware the Parisot family was filing a civil lawsuit. He also said the department met with the State Attorney’s Office in Stamford late last year to obtain an arrest warrant for a suspect in the case.

“We did meet with the state attorneys office and reviewed with them an arrest warrant, but they elected not to sign it and they requested for us to do further investigation on this case,” said Wakeman.

He said the person in question is still a suspect.

Currently, Wakeman said, the Wilton Police Department is working with state and federal authorities to analyze evidence retrieved from the scene, along with evidence seized from a private residence and DNA evidence obtained as the result of search warrants executed on four people. The ongoing investigation will not go any further until the evidence is analyzed, he said.

“I don’t anticipate this case being closed anytime soon,” said Wakeman. “But it will be a high priority until an arrest is made.”

The Parisot family was also called for comment, but the calls were not returned. On Sept. 8, the Knights put their home at 97 Hickory Hill Road up for sale. The house is listed through William Ravis.

Golub said the next step in the court case is a deposition, which will have the Knights answering questions under oath.

“The deposition is scheduled for late September,” said Golub. “But it may not go forward then. The lawyers usually work out a date that is convenient for both parties.”