Stuart was charged by Ludlow police with arson and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building. Watch video
PALMER — In what was meant to be his suicide note to his estranged wife, retired Springfield police officer George W. Stuart claimed he destroyed nearly $2 million in cash, stocks, bonds and other property and used shredded cash to start the fire that severely damaged their Ludlow home.
Documents filed in Palmer District Court show how the 71-year-old Stuart methodically planned for the end of his life in the weeks leading up to the hours-long standoff that ended when he shot a bullet into his stomach.
He planned to burn his home at 795 Center St. in Ludlow and to destroy assets ranging from jewelry to cash, and, as an added spite toward his estranged wife Rena, to be buried on her 70th birthday.
“YOU have lost, in cash, stocks and bonds which were all cashed in and unrecoverable close to $1.5 million and that’s not counting the house and all buildings on the grounds and YOUR precious Cadillac . . . You didn’t know this, but we had almost 2 million dollars – BUT NOT ANYMORE. I spent about an hour and a half just shredding the cash from the safe. I’m sure it will make for a great fire starter,” Stuart wrote to his wife Rena in a document called “The Last Statement and Thoughts of: George W. Stuart” provided to Ludlow police by Stuart’s daughter.
George StuartStuart was charged by Ludlow police with arson and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building. He is being held without bail and has a hearing set for Sept. 12 to determine if he is dangerous enough to continue to be held. He denied the charges at his arraignment Tuesday, held at his hospital bed at Baystate Medical Center.
On July 17, the day before the standoff at his ranch-style home at 795 Center St., Stuart paid Sampson Funeral Home $12,500 for his funeral with the instructions that he have a simple casket, no calling hours and be buried in Island Pond Cemetery in Ludlow four days later – on July 21 – Rena’s birthday.
“PS: Keep the change,” Stuart wrote to the funeral home.
The check to Samson is included in Stuart’s court file, which paints a picture of a man troubled by the demise of his 52-year marriage.
“Don’t bother to come to my funeral, I wouldn’t want to have you leave your precious television ... Don’t bother coming, you might miss the Saturday morning cartoons,” reads Stuart’s “Last Statement.”
Entries in the statement are dated from July 8 to July 17.
He also stated that he had to “get to the post office and prepare the house, car, sheds and me for the grand finale.”
It ends with “Well, goodbye and go to Hell.”
A friend of Stuart’s tipped police off about Stuart’s intention to harm himself.
Police Documents for George Stuart Case
According to the narrative by Ludlow Police Sgt. Louis E. Tulik, Jeffrey Roberts of Center Street went to the police station at 10:14 a.m. on July 18 to report that Stuart was suicidal over family and marital problems.
As an officer drove to Stuart’s home to check on him, he saw heavy smoke pouring from the Stuart home. Tulik’s report stated that there were open containers of what appeared to be gasoline in sheds to the rear of the property, as well as propane tanks with open valves inside the home.
State Trooper Michael S. Mazza, of the fire and explosion investigation section, wrote in his report that a 275-gallon oil tank in the basement has been tampered with, resulting in a large oil spill, and a 20-pound propane tank was found in the front seat of a Cadillac sedan parked in the attached garage.
Mazza wrote that the greatest damage was in the kitchen table area, and that there was evidence money had been burned on the counter top, as well as scrap books covering Stuart’s police career. Stuart was an expert marksman with the department. Gasoline had been sprayed or poured onto the kitchen table to start the fire, Mazza wrote.
In the statement, he says he got rid of his assets because of the way his wife and daughter treated him since his wife moved out in May. He criticizes his wife for not keeping the house clean, for failing to give him credit card slips, and for watching television. He told her he threw her jewelry in the Chicopee River.
A photocopy of a calendar included in the file showed Stuart’s plan to burn his home to the ground. He wrote “puncture oil tank in cellar” and detailed where to place bottles of gas, along with the notation “soak good.” He wrote “destroy guns - all but 40 cal” and “spread ammo around” and “spray tiki oil over everything.”
He also wrote “prior to July 17” that he would burn or throw away or give away all cash, bank book records and jewelry.
Stuart was supposed to be in Hampden Probate and Family Court on July 18 for a divorce hearing and failed to show.
After police and firefighters arrived at his burning home, Stuart could be seen walking back toward the woods, according to Tulik’s narrative.
Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, Springfield Officer Richard Rodrigues, state police negotiator Lt. James Penniman and Ludlow Police Chief James J. McGowan negotiated with Stuart for approximately seven hours in an effort to diffuse the standoff.
McGowan’s narrative stated that Stuart is licensed to carry a firearm by his department and is known to sometimes keep a weapon in his possession.
“Our goal was to make every effort to prevent harm to Mr. Stuart,” said McGowan, adding that Stuart held a .38 caliber handgun at his heart and he kept his finger on the trigger at all times.
McGowan praised Fitchet for his actions, saying those actions saved Stuart’s life.
Fitchet, in his report to McGowan about the incident, said that when Stuart looked at him and said “this is it, it’s over,” he grabbed the revolver while pushing it up toward the sky and away from Stuart. Because Stuart would not release the weapon, Fitchet wrote, Stuart was able to discharge it while it was pointed in the air. The discharge scorched Fitchet’s hand and he lost control of the weapon.
After a brief struggle, Stuart fell to the ground with the weapon still in his hand, then placed the gun to his midsection and fired, Fitchet wrote.
“Only necessary and proper force was used on Mr. Stuart in order to resolve this critical incident. All actions by all parties involved were centered solely on the effort to preserve the life of George Stuart,” Fitchet wrote.
Stuart retired in 1997 from the Springfield Police Department.