NORWICH -- A 56-year-old former Norwich man was killed during a suspected robbery and brutal assault at his family home on Salem Turnpike Friday.Dr. Eugene F. Mallove, a Norwich Free Academy graduate, published author and father of two, died of multiple injuries to his head and neck, according to an autopsy performed Saturday at the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner in Farmington. The death was ruled a homicide.
Police would not confirm Mallove's identity Saturday pending positive identification by family members.
Mallove was discovered at the small 119 Salem Turnpike house at 10:55 p.m. Friday after police received a report of an injured person.
At the house, situated at the entrance to Interstate 395 in
a primarily commercial area, police found Mallove unresponsive, the victim of an assault. He was later pronounced dead by medical personnel called to the scene.
Police said initial investigation indicated a robbery, during which a physical confrontation took place. Several unidentified items were taken from the scene and Mallove's vehicle was missing, according to a written statement released by Norwich police.
Several hours later, Mallove's 1993 green Dodge Caravan was found in the Foxwoods employee parking lot on Route 2 in Preston. The vehicle is easily identifiable by several large bumper stickers, including an American flag and his company Web site, www.infinite-energy.com, in the rear window. The New Hampshire license plate bears the registration INFNRG.
Police are now seeking information from anyone who saw the vehicle between 7 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday.
Police declined to provide further details of the killing Saturday.
Cars sped past the quiet Salem Turnpike home Saturday, where a large Dumpster was situated alongside the home in the driveway. Several cars, which looked as though they hadn't been moved in some time, are near the two-bay detached garage.
The home, owned by Mallove's parents since 1958, is now under Eugene Mallove's care, according to city records.
Mallove, with his wife, Joanne, had moved to Pembroke, N.H., from Norwich in 1987.
In New Hampshire, Mallove was the president of the nonprofit New Energy Foundation and since 1995 the editor-in-chief of the organization's magazine Infinite Energy.
The bimonthly magazine covers topics of new technological innovations in energy and science and follows developments in the field, according to its Web site.
Infinite Energy managing editor Christy Frazier worked with Mallove for the past six years and had become very close.
She called Mallove the "most caring and giving person I probably have ever known -- a very successful, brilliant man.
"It's been a wonderful, wonderful experience. It's hard not to love the things he loves because he's so passionate," she said. "He touched the lives of everybody he came in contact with."
Mallove's parents, Mitchel and Gladys Mallove, had followed their son's move to New Hampshire in 1988. His father, the son of Russian immigrants, died in March 2003 after a long illness, according to a published obituary. He is buried at the Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery in Norwich.
Eugene Mallove had become a grandfather just this year and was caring for his mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, Frazier said. She said Mallove was a Norwich Free Academy graduate.
He held a master of science degree and bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a science doctorate in environmental health sciences from Harvard University in 1975.
He also taught science journalism at MIT and Boston University and previously was chief science writer at the MIT news office.
He is the author of numerous technical articles and of several books, including the Pulitzer-nominated book on cold fusion titled, "Fire and Ice: Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor."
Anyone with information can call Norwich police at 886-5561, or the anonymous tip line at 886-5561, Ext. 500.