Robert Bell panted into the phone, begging a dispatcher to hurry medical responders as his daughter struggled to resuscitate his wife moments after he allegedly shot her in their New Fairfield home in December 2012. Soon, police took Robert Bell into custody on a disorderly conduct charge that later became first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. In the hours after his arrest, Bell sought medical treatment at Danbury Hospital while in police custody, complaining that his "heart is pounding." At some point after the shooting, investigators secured samples from Robert and Elizabeth Bell, which both tested positive for gunshot residue, an outcome that a doctor with the state forensics laboratory testified can be caused by several factors, including the firing of a gun as well as touching the clothes of a gunshot victim who had been shot at close range.