Did Chris Corna commit suicide or was he murdered? (UPDATE)

UPDATE: 5/29/10

GREENWICH SECRETS IS NOT BASED AROUND THE CHRIS CORNA CASE.  GREENWICH SECRETS IS A NOVEL.

Update: 12/18/09

Ethan Michael Topper, the 45-year-old fiancé of Greenwich resident Lisette Coen was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI last weekend.

According to California Highway Patrol, Topper was driving his Porsche along Howell Mountain Road in Napa Valley when he was involved in a single vehicle accident.

When officers arrived at the scene they found the expensive sports car unoccupied.

Later, Topper and his female companion, who is alleged to have been Coen, arrived at Helena Hospital around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday where Coen was treated and released and Topper was arrested.

It is believed that the couple was returning home after celebrating their upcoming nuptials with friends.

It is also rumored that Topper recently purchased this house for Coen, whose fiancé Chris Corna died earlier this year.

El Camino Del Mar for $10,000,000

This grand Sea Cliff residence is exquisite. It has been renovated to impeccable standards and offers 5+ bedrooms (all en suite), 6 full baths and 3 half bathrooms. From the voluminous entertaining spaces to the smallest, most elegant of Italianate/Mediterranean details, this dramatic 4-level home is awash in warm, natural light. It exudes sophistication and quality and showcases breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Pacific Ocean and the golden hills of Marin.

Address: El Camino Del Mar, San Francisco, CA 94121
Bedrooms / Baths: 5 / 7.5
Approximate Square Footage: 7,089
Asking Price: $10,000,000

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10/15/09

Less than a year after her fiancé’s death, it is rumored that Lisette Coen is now engaged.

Update: 9/03/09

Below is a copy of the police report of Chris’ accident. The investigation into Chris’ death is closed and the cause of death is suicide.

Page 2 paragraph 4 says: At 0428 hours and 45 seconds, Porchester Headquarters camera taped a vehicle that was unable to be identified south on N. Main street in the northbound traffic lane. At 0432 hours and 41 seconds surveillance tape from HQ shows a vehicle which is also unable to be ID south in the southbound lane of N Main Street

The responding officer was dispatched to Main Street at 0435 where he found Chris dead in his rented card.

Page 2 paragraph 5 says: At 0645 hours, the responding officer was advised that state police received a 911 call from Christian Corna from his cell phone and Chris stated to the state police dispatcher that he was involved in a car accident.

At 0645, the officer called Chris’ cell phone to see if he could hear the phone ringing at the scene but he was unsuccessful in locating the phone.

At 0708 hours an officers trying to locate Chris’ cell phone again called his number and they were unable to locate the phone.

Questions:

<!–[if !supportLists]–>1- Why would Chris call 911 to report the accident if he wanted to commit suicide?<!–[endif]–>

<!–[if !supportLists]–>2- Responding officer said that Chris was in the southbound lane, which means that the car in the surveillance camera at 0432 was Chris’, why would he call 911 (3) minutes before the responding officer arrived to report the accident and not tell them he had just stabbed himself.<!–[endif]–>

Chris’ “accident” took place within yards of the police station, was Chris trying to find the police station?

There are still too many unanswered questions.

CLICK ON POLICE REPORT TO ENLARGE

Update: 8/8/09

I have received emails from many of you asking for an update on Chris’ death. I am working on getting the police report and once I receive it I will post it on the blog.

I spoke with the DA’s office and they still do not have the case, and after speaking with some law enforcement officers it sounds like they are going to rule Chris’ death as a suicide. This is very unfortunate because in my opinion I believe Chris was murdered.

I have received many emails from people in Ohio and Colorado and it is obvious to me that Chris was loved by many people and he touched many lives and I do not know who or why anyone would want to kill him.

I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT CHRIS CORNA COMMITTED SUICIDE!

Update: 6/3/09

Although New York police are still investigating the death of Chris Corna, friends and colleagues of the former owner of the Slopeside Grill attended a forum about suicide, grief and death last night in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Reaching Everyone Preventing Suicide held a panel discussion at the Steamboat Springs Community Center to help the small Colorado community deal with the death of loved ones, especially the recent death of Chris Corna.

REPS coordinator Ronna Autrey said the group had no way of knowing if Corna’s death was a suicide, but the tragedy presented an opportunity to address the issue in Steamboat Springs.

Corna died in New York hours after his fiancée, Lisette Coen, allegedly ended their relationship after finding out he was dating a 19-year-old woman in Colorado.

Update: 5/28/09

More than 9 days after his death and six days after the Westchester medical examiner ruled it a suicide, Portchester, New York detectives are still conducting an investigation into what really happened on the morning of May 18, when Steamboat Springs, Colorado resident, Chris Corna, was found dead in a rented car with stab wounds to the throat.

Friends of Corna’s in Colorado and Ohio are still questioning New York authorities about what really happened in the early hours of May 18.

Westchester County Deputy Medical Examiner, Alexander Milovanovic, said an autopsy revealed that Corna stabbed himself in the neck, severing his carotid artery, yet six days after that ruling, the Portchester police are still conducting an investigation.

Greenwich Diva spoke with a Portchester detective this morning so said the investigation is “still ongoing,” however, the Westchester’s DA’s office have yet to receive the case.

Corna came to Greenwich in early May to meet the family of his girlfriend, Lisette Coen, who he had just proposed to a few days prior to his death.

It is alleged that moments before he died, Corna exchanged text messages with Coen and friends in Colorado.

Authorities said that Corna’s fingerprints were found on his cell phone.

Update: 5/25/09

Hundreds of friends and family members gathered in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, yesterday for a memorial service for Chris Corna, the Steamboat Pilot reported.

Organizer of the memorial service Lindsey Grannis, met Corna in 1993 when he arrived in Steamboat Spring and she hired him as a waiter at the then Time Out Sports Bar and Grill, which later became Slopeside Grill.

According to the newspaper, Grannis told the crowd how she later ended up working for Corna after he purchased the establishment.

“He was sitting on the deck, and I pulled him aside and I said, ‘Would you like to be my assistant manager for the upcoming winter?’ He looked me in the eye and said, ‘Lindsey, don’t tell anyone yet, but I just bought the place, will you be my manager?’”

College friend, Aaron Youngdahl, spoke about a basketball game between Florida University and Kansas he attended with Corna, who was a University of Florida Gators fan.

He said Corna was not pleased with star center, Joakim Noah, non-participation in the game so he “stood up in a relatively quiet auditorium and shouted, ‘Get in the huddle, Noah,’ and Youngdahl told the crowd that had gathered between the Slopeside Grill and the snowboarding mountain, how Noah looked over at Coran, stood up and got in the huddle.

Greenwich Diva checked with the Portchester, New York, police this morning who confirmed that there is still an “ongoing investigation” into Corna’s death.

To read more on the service go to

http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/may/24/corna_remembered_charming_generous/

Update:5/23/09

For the last 17 years, 45-year-old Christopher “Chris” Corna called the small city of Steamboat Springs, Colorado home.

He owned the Slopeside Grill in the small ski resort town and everyone who knew him loved him.

On Monday May 18, when family and friends in Colorado received word that Corna had committed suicide while visiting his fiancée, Lisette Coen, in Greenwich, Connecticut, they all asked the same question, “Why, why would a successful businessman who was full of life and energy and was loved by everyone who knew him take his own life?”

A few days prior to his death, Corna had proposed to Coen, a woman he grew up with in Ohio, but lost touch with over the years.

According to close friends of Coran’s in Colorado, he did not tell anyone he was planning to propose to the mother of four.

It is believed that on Sunday May 17, Coen found out the Corna had been seeing a 19-year-old woman from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and decided to break off their engagement.

According to sources close to Coen, after a fight on the night of Sunday May 17, Corna left Coen’s house, and a few minutes later he sent her several text messages and allegedly, the two made up.

It is believed that before returning to Coen’s house, Corna decided to make a quick stop at a grocery store in Portchester, New York, a small village next to Greenwich, to pick up some Krispy Kreme for Coen’s children, a routine he had gotten used to since arriving in Greenwich in early May.

Around 4:30a.m on Monday Portchester police responding to a car accident found Corna’s body, which had stab wounds to the throat and chest, in his rented Toyota car, along with the knife that was used to inflict the wounds.

In an interview with a Colorado newspaper on Tuesday, Coen said, “It’s beyond words,” he always told me he wanted to be my rock, and he was. He was the type of person you want your son to be like.”

On Thursday, the Westchester’s medical examiner confirmed that Corna’s death was a suicide, but family members and friends in the small ski town of about 9,815 people did not believe it.

On the day of the accident, Portchester police said that Corna suffered multiple stabbed wounds when they discovered the body, however, Westchester County Deputy Medical Examiner, Alexander Milovanovic, said that an autopsy revealed that Corna had one stabbed wound in his neck.

Greenwich Diva called the Portchester, New York Police Department for a comment for this story and we were told that there is still an “ongoing investigation” therefore they cannot discuss the subject.

On October 4, 2006, Lisette Coen filed for a divorce from her husband, John Coen, a powerful Hedge Fund manager, who, over the last several months allegedly turned to drinking for comfort.

In October 2008, he was arrested for “inappropriately touching” a female patronage at a Greenwich restaurant, and on April 14, he was arrested, again, at the Ginger Man restaurant also in Greenwich.

Friends of Lisette’s said ever since she told John she was leaving Greenwich and moving to Colorado to be with Chris, they fought every day.

Greenwich Diva has a few questions for the Portchester Police Department:

<!–[if !supportLists]–>1- <!–[endif]–>If this was ruled as a suicide by the medical examiner, why is the case still open?

<!–[if !supportLists]–>2- <!–[endif]–>Why did the initial report say that Corna had multiple stab wounds, yet the medical examiner said stab wound, is this based on sloppy police work or a cover-up?

<!–[if !supportLists]–>3- <!–[endif]–>Initial reports said Corna was also stabbed in the chest, yet the medical examiner did not address this?

<!–[if !supportLists]–>4- <!–[endif]–>Why would a very successful businessman, who did not drink, or do drugs, was not on medication and was not depressed, take his own life?

Was this really suicide, was it a hit, or was it a random act of violence?

Original Story April 14, 2009

Forty-four year old John Coen, from Greenwich, Connecticut, was arrested for assaulting two police officers who were attempting to escort him out of The Ginger Man restaurant.

Police were called to the local eatery last Friday night after Coen started insulting patrons, and harassing the bartender with racial slurs.

After officers told Coen he needed to leave the establishment, he became verbally abusive and lunged toward an officer “in a fighting manner,” the police report says.

The officers attempted to arrest Coen, and the drunken man went berserk and tried to grab one of the officer’s batons from his belt, causing two officers to pin him to the ground.

The police report says it took several jolts from a Taser to bring Coen under control.

Coen is charged with assaulting a police officer and breach of peace.

UPDATE: 5/20/09

A Greenwich Diva reader emailed me about the John Coen arrest at the Ginger Man restaurant I wrote about on April 14.

They wanted to know if the John Coen I wrote about in my post is the same John Coen who is about to be questioned in the death of a Steamboat, Colorado, man.

After doing some research this is what I came up with.

There is a John Coen whose wife, Lisette Coen, was about to marry Chris Corna from Steamboat, Colorado, and Chris was in Greenwich this week to meet Lisette’s family.

While he was in Greenwich, he was killed in an automobile accident on the Greenwich, Portchester state line, and although authorities are publicly calling it an accident, IT IS ALLEGED that authorities are going to change it to murder and it is also ALLEGED that John is going to be called in for questioning.

It is also ALLEGED that John was also arrested for sexual harassment in Oct. of last year.

It is possible that there could be two different John Coen’s with the same connections out there.

I just spoke with the Portchester police department and they had “no comment” since the case is still under investigation.

I will keep you posted.

Update: 5:43p.m Chris had stabbed wounds to his throat when he was found Monday morning around 4:30.