MASSACHUSETTS COMPUTER THIEF ALSO A MURDER SUSPECT http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061013/NEWS/610130720/0/FRONTPAGE


Friday, October 13, 2006 Suspect arraigned in 2005 slaying83-year-old widow killed in Ware

By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Nathan J. Ruell (Telegram & Gazette Staff)

HADLEY— The man accused of murdering an 83-year-old Ware widow in her home last October told a friend three months later he had killed someone and expected to kill someone else, Northwest District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel said yesterday.

Web Editor.......below excerpt taken from article

Mr. Ruell is also a suspect in other Ware break-ins, including two at a home on Benham Avenue, where he allegedly stole cash and antiques from a couple he had helped to sell wares at the Brimfield Outdoor Antiques Shows. A bottle commemorating the Apollo 15 space launch was taken from that home, and a friend later told police he had received it as a birthday gift from Mr. Ruell, the police report says.

In other break-ins, Mr. Ruell allegedly stole computers — something he listed among his favorite things in his high school yearbook — from a business and a neighbor’s home.

At A&R Packaging, he allegedly gained access with a key given to him by a friend. According to the report, once inside, he stole computers, giving one to the friend who provided the key and another to the acquaintance to whom he’d presented the space launch bottle. The friend who allegedly gave him the key is slated for arraignment today on charges related to that incident.

Mr. Ruell is also believed to have stolen a large knife with metal spikes and a “Fantasy knife” from the Dragon Tails Swords and Knives shop on Route 32. Those were recovered when Belchertown police stopped Mr. Ruell and arrested him on drug charges in March. An informant told police Mr. Ruell had been inside the shop and appeared to be “casing” it, according to the police report.

Police became interested in Mr. Ruell as a suspect in the Martowski killing after an August break-in at a Glendale Circle residence, similar to the incident at Mrs. Martowski’s home. In this case someone entered through a window and ransacked the house, emptying drawers onto a bed. Mr. Ruell told police he had been the burglar in the Glendale Circle case.

Investigators searched Mr. Ruell’s 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage for stolen items, gloves and a mask. They found a small silver ring, a flashlight, a cap and knife sharpener. Police also noted that the distance between Mr. Ruell’s home and the Marjorie Street area is about a half mile and takes about 17 minutes to traverse on foot by using a railroad track shortcut between the two areas.

In court yesterday, a clean-shaven, bespectacled Mr. Ruell appeared behind a glass partition clad in a suit. He answered, “Yeah,” when Judge Nancy Dusek-Gomez told him she would enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Mr. Ruell once attended classes in the Ware public schools but later transferred to Quabbin. In an entry near his photograph in the school’s yearbook he lists the fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy and science fiction books and heavy metal music among his likes. He was a member of the poetry club. His goal was “to live life as an adventure.”

Mrs. Martowski’s family members declined to speak with reporters yesterday but were present for the arraignment. Mrs. Scheibel said the family has been “incredibly patient over this last year” as investigators worked to solve the case.

She said Mrs. Martowski’s daughters expressed relief when they learned that a suspect had been arrested.

Mr. Ruell’s parents and brother were also in the courtroom. Mr. Ruell worked recently as a trash collector in Ludlow and East Longmeadow. Police informants said he talked about how he would case out neighborhoods in those towns with the idea of breaking into homes, according to court documents.

Mr. Ruell was ordered held without bail and will be back in court on Dec. 12 for a pretrial hearing.

State Police Lt. John Gibbons said investigators are continuing to seek information in the case. Anyone with information may call state police detectives at (413) 586-5150 or Ware Police at (413) 967-3571.