HARTFORD, Conn. — Shortly before Perrie Mason vanished earlier this month, two 911 calls were made from her phone. Dispatchers did not hear anyone on the line and called her back, but still no response, according to her sister.
Four days later, on Aug. 21, the body of the 31-year-old Connecticut mother of two, who recently moved from Hawaii, was found and her ex-boyfriend was arraigned in court on domestic violence charges in connection with a previous attack against Mason, authorities said. Officials have called the ex-boyfriend, Jason Watson, a prime suspect in her disappearance, but no charges have been filed in connection with her death.
It’s not clear what happened in the moments after the 911 calls to Meriden’s emergency communications center. City police officials have declined to release the 911 recordings as well as any information about their response to the calls, citing the ongoing criminal investigation into Mason’s death.
Relatives, friends and anti-domestic violence advocates have been left to wonder whether more could have been done after the calls and whether Mason’s death could have been prevented. But they say there are no early indications of any mistakes or wrongdoing.
“We want to know more about that,” said Karen Jarmoc, chief executive officer of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Mishandled 911 calls have been blamed for deaths across the country. Earlier this month, the city of Cincinnati was sued by the family of teenager Kyle Plush, who became trapped in a vehicle and died last year after a failed response to his two heartrending 911 calls.
Connecticut has no statewide mandates on how dispatchers are supposed to handle 911 calls. Each department has its own rules and generally they follow guidelines by emergency response organizations, officials say.