“We Could Not Get Any Info at All” Says Family of Man Who Died, Linked to State Police Major’s Claim
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
David Heffron died in March 2012 of a head injury outside of a bar in East Greenwich. That is about the only fact that is not without question, amidst swirling accusations and denials.
Heffron was 58 at the time of his death.
GoLocal sat down with Heffron’s sister and brother, who have been seeking answers about their brother David's death for the past ten years.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThey are frustrated by the lack of response from law enforcement.
Anne, age 68, and James, 72, were David's only siblings. The family grew up in Warwick. Over the years, the three often worked together at David's successful business RI Hydraulics Co. The company services gas stations in the region -- installing and removing gas station tanks.
"He was always in by 6:30 AM," said Anne Heffron.
"One day, we are on a job site, and he was late. He was never late," she said.
"A little later, he shows up, doesn’t say anything. He starts working. A little while after, an old lady stops by with cookies. [Earlier] David had seen her shoveling, he had stopped and had shoveled the walkway, the driveway," she continued. "That was him.”
The Death, The Controversy
The death of David Heffron has been tied to the claim by retired State Police Major Tim Sanzi, that his former colleague, retired Lt. Colonel Joe Philbin, told him in a phone call that "he thinks" he killed a man a decade earlier.
Sanzi and Philbin have been close friends outside of the State Police. Sanzi was the best man at Philbin’s wedding.
On January 31, 2022, Sanzi told another State Trooper of Philbin’s call.
GOLOCAL EXCLUSIVELY HAS THE RECORDING OF SANZI'S CLAIMS
Sanzi, in the phone call with Lt. Michael Casey, said that Philbin called him back later that evening.
“He called me like five hours later — and he was like thanking me and everything. It was really fucking weird, and he was thanking me to the point of — he told me that he called that kid 'Brownie,'" Sanzi continued to recount. "That he 'took care of it' and the guy had been to the hospital...and that he told him...nothing's going to happen."
The reference to “Brownie” was to then-East Greenwich police officer Stephen Brown, who today is the Police Chief of East Greenwich. Brown and Philbin were close friends while attending URI together in the late 1980s. GoLocal reached out to Brown for comment, he did not respond. Brown was named chief in East Greenwich in 2014.
Philbin served as a member of the East Greenwich police force prior to joining the State Police.
Now, Philbin denies Sanzi’s claims.
Philbin, when reached for comment on Sunday, refuted the allegations made by Sanzi.
“That’s a question I’ll take to my grave. I don’t know why he would say that. I don’t," said Philbin, when asked why he thought Sanzi would tell Casey what he did.
"Tim was my best friend, my best man at my wedding. The State Police investigated it…it was completely cleared, it was nothing," said Philbin.
Heffrons Frustrated with East Greenwich Response
The Heffron siblings have been frustrated by the lack of responsiveness by the East Greenwich police.
Anne says that they initially talked to then-East Greenwich Police detective Patrick Trainor in the spring of 2012.
“He [detective Trainor] was wonderful, very compassionate, he was very interested. He said that [the Oaks Tavern] 'was a bad place...motorcycle people go there, and I want to make sure no one hit [David Heffron],'” said Anne.
She said he asked for some information and when she later tried to contact Trainor— he was gone.
“He was nowhere to be found…they said on the phone he had retired," said Anne.
“We could not get information at all,” said David’s brother James. No one would respond to messages.
"No one would help us. We could not get any information from anyone [at the East Greenwich Police Department] after Trainor retired," said Anne.
Efforts to reach Trainor have been unsuccessful.
GoLocal reached out again to East Greenwich Chief Brown about the Heffrons' claims.
He refused to respond to questions.
Coming Soon: Part III
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