Photo courtesy of Sequin 1996 (NHS yearbook)

Elizabeth Carlson, 24, a member of the Newington High School Class of 1996, died last night, shot to death in her family’s Franklin Circle home in southeastern Newington. Police alleged that Jonathan Carney, 29, of Rocky Hill, murdered Carlson. The two were dating until about a month ago, according to various local news sources.

Elizabeth was a senior in high school when I was a freshman, and so far as I can recall, I didn’t know her personally. However, her younger sister, Leslie, was just two years ahead of me, and I knew her well because she was a star player on Newington’s girls basketball team, which advanced to the state semifinals during Leslie’s senior year. I was a student manager on that team, and Leslie and I were good friends during the season. Leslie eventually went to George Washington University on a basketball scholarship, and I saw her play in one college game during her freshman year in college (my junior year in high school), but we’ve since lost touch. However, needless to say, I was shocked and saddened to read about her sister’s death. Apparently, Leslie was home at the time of the murder, and she was the one who called police.

From what I can gather from the 1996 Newington High yearbook, Elizabeth was a member of the National Honor Society and the French Club. Her senior quote was: “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” I’m not sure where she went after graduating, but I’ll post any information I get to this website.

Here is the article on her murder from the New Britain Herald.