Baruffaldi family skeptical about lie detector results in ‘suicide’ probe

LYNNFIELD – The family of a Lynnfield veterinarian who purportedly committed suicide in the Caribbean last month is questioning the results of a polygraph test given to her husband who they believe murdered her.Attorney Kevin Reddington held a press conference Saturday to announce that his client, Robert Harris, does not object to having a second autopsy performed on his wife, Joan Baruffaldi.Baruffaldi’s family has taken court action to prevent Harris from having the woman’s body cremated before a second autopsy is conducted because they believe she was killed in the couple’s hotel room in the U.S. Virgin Islands late Nov. 3 or shortly after midnight Nov. 4.Harris told police detectives on the island of St. John he had argued with his wife who then locked herself in the bathroom. According to Harris, he heard a thump but couldn’t open the door. About 15 minutes later, with help from hotel security, Harris found his wife with a bathrobe sash around her neck and tied to the shower curtain rod. Baruffaldi was alive but unconscious. She died Nov. 5 in a St. John’s hospital.Donald E. McNamee, an attorney for the Baruffaldi family, criticized the information given out at the press conference by Reddington and private investigator Thomas Shamshak. “For the first time, Mr. Harris appears to agree to a second autopsy. During several prior court appearances, his counsel’s position as stated was opposed to a second autopsy,” McNamee said in a prepared statement.Reddington told the press Harris passed a lie detector test, administered by expert David Raskin in Arizona Dec. 9. The results prove Harris did not murder his wife, Reddington said.”The Baruffaldi family considers the alleged polygraph results as suspicious and also considers the alleged report of the private detective as factually questionable,” said McNamee. “These statements contained information concerning the alleged results of a polygraph examination of Mr. Harris as well as the alleged results of an investigation conducted by a private investigator retained by Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris made a written statement, however, no questions were allowed (during the polygraph test).”Harris has insisted he did not kill his wife. “I did not have anything to do with her death,” he told the press. “I know that my successful polygraph examination will prove that.”A superior court judge has appointed attorney David Eppley as special administrator to oversee the case and determine whether a second autopsy is warranted.”The cause of death of Joan M. Baruffaldi will be decided in the courts, not during a Saturday afternoon press conference,” McNamee said.Baruffaldi’s will bequeathed Harris more than $3 million in real estate and other assets. Harris, 47, and Baruffaldi, 45, lived at 29 Robin Road until October when she had him removed for acts of domestic violence, including rape. Mary Elizabeth Baruffaldi, the victim’s sister, begged her not to travel with Harris to the fateful veterinarians’ conference in the Caribbean.