Tale of the tape: Small piece of adhesive leads to arrest in Connecticut cold case murder

A small piece of black vinyl tape has reportedly led Connecticut police to charge a former boyfriend in the murder of a 26-year-old aspiring actress who was found beaten to death in her home more than six years ago.

Matthew Pugh, 40, of Hamden, Conn., was charged Wednesday in the murder of Alexandra Ducsay, who was found with significant head trauma in her Milford, Conn., home on May 19, 2006, according to the Milford Police Department.

A 1 ½-inch-wide piece of black vinyl tape that police found stuck to Ducsay’s cheek played a key role in the investigation, the Connecticut Post reports, as it was a rare brand that was distributed locally only by a company in New London, Conn. Authorities learned that the type of tape – Permacel Model P-34 – was sold to just three in-state companies and a roll of it was found in Pugh’s home days after Ducsay’s murder.

Pugh, Ducsay’s ex-boyfriend and a former employee of one of those three companies, was arraigned Wednesday in Milford Superior Court. He was already jailed on separate assault and robbery charges and was also charged with first-degree burglary. He is currently being held at Garner Correctional Institution on $2 million bail, police said.

Matthew Ducsay, brother of the aspiring actress and dancer known to loved ones as Zan, said relatives are pleased with developments in the long-unsolved case.

“Justice for Zan is long overdue,” he told the Connecticut Post. “We hope that this individual is punished to the full extent of the law.”

Pugh, according to an arrest warrant affidavit, began dating Ducsay when she was 16. Their relationship ended when he was imprisoned on drug charges. Ducsay then accused Pugh of threatening to harm her while in prison and, in 2004, two years before she was killed, Pugh began stalking Ducsay and continued to harass and threaten her.

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