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Grim Memories Haunt Site of Norwich Slaying
By Greg Smith
Norwich Bulletin

Monday, May 14, 2007

NORWICH -- The former Mallove family home at 119 Salem Turnpike looks abandoned.

The grass is uncut. Windows are broken, debris is scattered across the driveway and signs tacked to the front door and garage warn of an impeding demolition.

For Ethan Mallove, 27, of Massachusetts, son of the late Eugene Mallove, the property conjures nightmares.

The night of May 14, 2004, had a lot in common with a nightmare. It's the day his father's beaten and bloodied body was discovered in the driveway of the home -- an obvious homicide.

"That was where we visited grandma and grandpa. It used to be a warm, happy, safe place," Mallove said. "Now that house just terrifies me."

Eugene Mallove, 56, of Pembroke, N.H., had driven to Norwich that week to clean up the house after the last tenants. His parents, Mitchel and Gladys, bought the property in the 1950s. He had grown up there. Now he rented it out while he and his wife lived in New Hampshire.

Police worked the Mallove case for more than a year before making the first arrest in June 2005. Eventually two convicts were charged with felony murder in the case. According to police, Gary McAvoy, 45, and Joseph Reilly, 41, allegedly were on a crack-fueled larceny spree the night Mallove was killed.

The two were early suspects in the case, but Norwich police held off on a warrant while they continued to gather information. Forensic evidence is still lacking in the case, despite blood found on both the suspects.

Defense attorneys for both suspects have questioned the credibility of jailhouse informants who testified to hearing the two men discuss the alleged murder. The case is pending in New London Superior Court. New forensic tests recently were ordered by the state's attorney's office.

News of Mallove's death in 2004 not only shocked his family, but also the scientific community familiar with his advocacy of controversial subjects, such as new energy sources -- in particular cold fusion.

In some circles, his death spawned conspiracy theories -- because of his scientific work.

A former science writer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mallove was the founder and editor of Infinite Energy magazine and president of the New Energy Foundation. The magazine is still published and features articles about unconventional energy research from contributors around the world.

"His work was not only inspirational, but it was essential," said Steve Krivit, a journalist, publisher of New Energy Times and co-author of "The Rebirth of Cold Fusion: Real Science, Real Hope, Real Energy."

Pioneering work

"For many years, (Mallove's) magazine Infinite Energy was the only indication that the field was still alive and that at least some researchers still cared about it and were still committed to it," Krivit said. "If this field ever delivers anything practical or useful, I thing Gene will deserve great honors for his integrity and dedication and will have earned a place in history."

For Ethan Mallove, the year of anxiety waiting for an arrest in his father's slaying has been replaced by a lingering need for closure. He continues to follow the case.

"I try not to think about it because it's taking too long," he said. "I try not to dwell on it."

The state purchased Mallove's house on Salem Turnpike in 2005 as part of a road-widening project near Interstate 395. The state Department of Transportation has no date for demolishing the house.

Ethan Mallove, who said he has no desire to see the property again, said he was unaware the house was still standing.

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