Prospect, Connecticut Funeral Home Owner Michael Palmerie Arrested on Stalking Charge

By Tiffany Williams –

PROSPECT, Conn. — A fractured funeral business partnership has led to a stalking charge against Michael P. Palmerie, a Prospect funeral home owner accused of repeatedly monitoring a former partner. Connecticut State Police allege his conduct included driving through the other man’s business property, parking nearby and following him into a church parking lot.

Palmerie surrendered to Eastern District Major Crime detectives at Troop C around 1:30 p.m. Friday, October 9, on an active arrest warrant. Police said he was charged with second-degree stalking and released after personally posting a $25,000 cash/surety bond. He is scheduled to appear at Waterbury Superior Court on October 22 at 9:30 a.m.

The warrant focuses on alleged conduct from December 2025 through August 2026. Sergeant Luke Davis wrote that surveillance videos, photographs and screenshots documented a broader pattern extending back to 2024. The complainant, whose name is redacted, told investigators he feared for his safety and his family’s safety.

According to the affidavit, the men’s business relationship began unraveling in 2014, and the complainant left the partnership by the end of 2016. He alleged Palmerie had threatened to cut his throat if his departure caused financial harm. That allegation appears as background in the affidavit; the charging document lists one count of second-degree stalking.

The complainant opened an independent funeral business in Prospect in 2024 and reported repeated unwanted appearances by Palmerie. Davis described January 5, 2026, footage showing a vehicle parked across the road facing the business for approximately nine minutes. The affidavit also details an April 27 church parking lot encounter and additional vehicle activity in August.

Palmerie offered explanations during a September 22 interview with investigators. According to the affidavit, he cited post office traffic and a believed right of way to explain driving through the neighboring business lot. He said a December 29 visit involved helping a client who had gone to the wrong address, and that the church visit involved checking whether the former partner had replaced him in helping with bingo.

Asked how he felt about the former partner reopening a funeral business, Palmerie stated, “I was quite upset.” Discussing similar business names and buying rights to other titles, he told investigators, “if you want to confuse people, then we’ll confuse them.”

Palmerie also told investigators he had not had direct personal contact with the complainant in more than a year and described pursuing a civil case over alleged social media slander. Davis nevertheless concluded there was probable cause to arrest him for an alleged course of monitoring, surveilling and lying in wait. The charge is an allegation, not a finding of guilt.