Madison police talked to Woodstock murder suspect twice hours before arrest

WOODSTOCK – Police in Madison, Wisconsin, had contact with Branden M. Napolitan on two separate occasions before authorities knew he was wanted in Illinois.

Napolitan, 26, of Woodstock, was arrested Monday in Madison and is being held without bond in Dane County, Wisconsin. He's charged locally with first-degree murder, theft and aggravated battery stemming from the stabbing death of his roommate, Daryl K. Fox.

According to Madison police, a resident there called authorities at 3:40 p.m. Sunday saying there was a man in her yard acting strangely. Napolitan asked the homeowner for water, Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said.

Napolitan told the officer he was waiting on a ride and refused help. The officer left.

At 8:16 p.m. Sunday, Madison police made contact a second time with Napolitan – this time it was an hour and a half before they knew he was wanted in connection with Fox's murder.

Fox, 53, was found dead around 12:30 p.m. Sunday in the studio apartment the two shared in Woodstock. The coroner said Fox died from multiple injuries, including blunt-force injuries to his neck and a “sharp injury” to his lung.

When police in Wisconsin again contacted Napolitan, he was wandering around a Madison grocery store. An employee said Napolitan was walking through the store looking at things and had been there for more than an hour, DeSpain said.

"When our officer goes there, this guy is now eating ice cream and tells the officer that he's waiting for his mother to pick him up," DeSpain said.

Again, Napolitan tells the second officer he was OK and was waiting on a ride. The officer let Napolitan use her phone to call his mother, DeSpain said. Again the officer leaves.

At 9:37 p.m., Woodstock police notified authorities in Madison that the wanted man may be in their area. At 10:15 p.m., they found Fox's Volkswagen Passat, which Napolitan is believed to have taken off with after the murder.

It's unclear whether the phone call was how Woodstock police knew Napolitan was in Madison. Woodstock authorities couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Napolitan was arrested just after midnight Monday outside the same grocery store.

"Those first couple of contacts, we had no idea he was a homicide suspect," DeSpain said. "He was just a guy who was acting strangely, and we were just trying to help him."

Woodstock authorities previously have said Napolitan sought mental health treatment Friday, just a few days before his arrest. Fox was killed sometime between Friday and Sunday, but authorities have not pinpointed an exact time. They also haven't revealed how Fox and Napolitan knew each other or came to be roommates.

Napolitan is fighting extradition to Illinois, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs said, meaning authorities must secure a governor's warrant and hold an extradition hearing in Madison.