Tim Yergeau dies by suicide after a failed child porn raid

A former Connecticut Planned Parenthood honcho took his own life days after police failed to arrest him on child pornography charges – he botched the raid by smashing down the door of the suspect’s New Haven neighbor.

Tim Yergeau, 36, the former director of strategic communications at Planned Parenthood’s southern New England office, died Tuesday by suicide during a child pornography investigation in Connecticut last week.

“The person who died was definitely the suspect in a child pornography investigation and the person who committed suicide,” New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson told the New Haven Registrar.

Five days earlier, members of the Special Victims Unit investigating the child pornography case reportedly broke down the door of Yergeau’s neighbor – and handcuffed the woman before realizing they had searched the wrong apartment.

“They obviously hit the wrong door,” Jacobson told the outlet.

New Haven Police Department internal affairs investigators are now investigating how the police screwed up the raid, the article said.

“Unfortunately, we made a mistake,” said Jacobson.

“We feel for the woman and will do everything we can to make it right,” he added.

While Jacobson declined to confirm that Yergeau was the suspect in the child pornography investigation, his neighbor and the State Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner confirmed he died Tuesday morning.

The coroner also confirmed that he died by suicide.

After leaving Planned Parenthood, Yergeau began working as marketing and communications director at Long Wharf Theater in August 2022, according to the organization’s website.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the developments of the last 24 hours,” a theater spokesman said. “Given the difficult news, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Yergeau had also previously worked for the New Haven Free Public Library Foundation, according to the Long Wharf Theater website.

Police reportedly said they will not release the search warrant application or release any information about what was found at Yergeau’s home as there are two open investigations into the matter until they confirm no other suspects were involved .

The state of Connecticut may also choose to withhold the warrant.

Yergeau’s neighbor Stacey Wezenter told the outlet she now experiences being handcuffed again every time she walks down the hallway of the apartment.

“What if I had a gun license? What if I came down the hall with a gun? would i have been shot What if my 4 year old woke up? Would they have shot him?” said Wezenter. “You just don’t do that to people.”

Police entered her home around 6 a.m. and began systematically moving through the house, guns drawn, she reportedly recalled.

“I started running down the hall, it was like in a movie. They had guns and flashlights with me,” Wezenter said. “They pushed me against the wall and handcuffed me. I cried and said, ‘What’s wrong?’”

According to the article, officers repeatedly asked them where the man was as they walked through the rooms of their home.

“I thought, ‘What man? I’m here with my kids,’” the mother said. “They said, ‘Who is Tim? ‘ and I said that’s my neighbor downstairs.

After noticing her 4-year-old son’s toys, officers reportedly realized they were not in the right apartment.

Officers told her they were monitoring her neighbor, who was the focus of their investigation.

Wezenter told the outlet she planned to bring a plate of Easter leftovers to Yergeau on Monday but accidentally fell asleep with her son.

“I was planning on going there and talking to him,” she said. “I just thought maybe a little act of compassion might help.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five counties, you can call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.