Body found at Recreation Park in Bozrah

BOZRAH, Conn. (WTNH) -- A body was found at Recreation Park in Bozrah this morning, a victim of "foul play," police said.

Sean Skinner wasn't originally scheduled to pick up branches Tuesday, but he has a good reason as to why he isn't mowing the grass at Bozrah's Hayward Memorial Field.

"Couple crew guys drove by and saw a guy laying on the ground with a police officer over him, and now it's turned into a big situation," Skinner said.

Or, in the words of the state police: "We do believe foul play was involved in this particular death, yes."

The body was found in-between the backstop and the playground. While police can't get into too many grisly details, Skinner says rumors are already spreading about the manner of the man's death.

"I'm hearing that there's a couple of gunshots to the stomach," Skinner said, "definitely looks like a homicide."

Investigators left the area around 2 p.m, but detectives are still looking at a specific time frame to when the man was possibly killed. That's why they're asking if anyone was out there, heard anything or saw anything, they want you to call police.

Fire crews were later called in to wash the blood away from the grass. Police say the unidentified man, who is from the Groton-Norwich area, did die there. An uncommon violent occurrence in a sleepy town.

"We have kids that come here, I was just jogging here last week, it's just tragic," Skinner said. "It makes you really wonder what goes on."

Skinner will eventually return to the park that sits along Route 163, the grass still needs to be mowed, and he's sure to stare at the spot.

"The last thing you think is there's a guy laying there dead," Skinner said.