Putnam, CT — Nearly ten years after the violent 2015 kidnapping and torture of a Woodstock man, the final alleged assailant has been located across the country, arrested in California, and extradited to Connecticut to stand trial. Four co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty and are serving or have served their sentences, while a fifth remains held on bond awaiting a plea hearing.
According to the Putnam Police Department, 43-year-old Levi Caudell was taken into custody by the Merced County Sheriff’s Department in California and extradited to Connecticut on November 19, 2025, for an active arrest warrant issued by the Danielson Superior Court. The warrant alleges Caudell participated in the targeted kidnapping and torture of a then 29-year-old Woodstock man, who was abducted while walking home from a parade and later left at Pulaski State Park, where statements suggest he was nearly killed.
Caudell is being held on a $250,000 bond on the following charges:
- Assault in the First Degree – Aid by Others (C.G.S. 53a-59(a)(4))
- Kidnapping in the First Degree – Injury/Sexual Abuse (C.G.S. 53a-92(a)(2)(A))
- Cruelty to Persons (C.G.S. 53-20(a)(1))
- Threatening in the Second Degree – Violence to Terrorize (C.G.S. 53a-62(a)(2))
- Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree (C.G.S. 53a-63)
- Conspiracy to Commit Assault in the First Degree – Aid by Others (C.G.S. 53a-59(a)(4))
- Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping in the First Degree – Injury/Sexual Abuse (C.G.S. 53a-92(a)(2)(A))
— Reader Discretion Advised: Detailed Account Below —
Detailed Account (Chronological)
According to the arrest warrant application, on November 29, 2015, 29-year-old Phillip Sparks of Woodstock met a female friend in the housing complex off Farrows Street and walked with her to attend the Holiday Light Parade. After the parade, the woman stopped at a residence on Farrows Street near Flagg Street (address withheld due to a change in ownership).
Shortly after arriving, Sparks was assaulted by six individuals— four men and two women—who believed he had sold heroin to a woman who later fatally overdosed. Sparks denied this allegation that night and in all subsequent police interviews.
The woman who led Sparks to the residence later told police she brought him there out of fear for her own safety, but claimed she did not know what would happen to him. She did not participate in the assault, though statements differ on whether she remained in the house throughout the incident.
Initial Assault & Restraint
Sparks was punched and kicked by the group before his hands were bound with tape, and he was taken to the basement. There, the assault escalated. According to statements, he was kicked and punched repeatedly, struck with a 2×4 board, and beaten with a 27-inch wooden dowel, which several participants referred to as the “chicken stick”, for approximately five hours.
During this period, Sparks was stabbed once with a paring knife, and the group poured alcohol into the stab wound, into other open wounds, and into his eyes, apparently to inflict extreme pain. One account claims the group attempted to drown him in a cooler of water, but the cooler tipped over.
Throughout the assault, members of the group repeatedly threatened to kill Sparks and dispose of him at a pig farm, though others in the group occasionally told them “not here,” momentarily halting the escalation.
Statements Attributed to Caudell
At one point, Sparks recalled that only a bald man—believed to be Caudell—remained in the basement with him. He said the man would beat him in the face with the dowel, punch him, and shove him around, then stop for short, unsettling breaks before continuing.
During one of these pauses, Sparks stated, the bald man casually told him that he “liked to do this kind of stuff” and claimed he had “already killed 12 people,” adding that killing another “wouldn’t be a big deal.”
Transport to Pulaski State Park
After several hours, Sparks was dragged outside to a red 2005 Chevy Cobalt, registered to Megan Klingensmith, the owner of the residence. He was placed in the back seat between two men—a bald man and a blond-haired man. He identified the front seat passengers as: the woman who owned the house (Klingensmith) and a man with dreadlocks. The group drove Sparks across the Rhode Island border to Pulaski State Park, continuing to hit him during the ride.
Upon arrival in one of the parking lots, Sparks was pulled from the vehicle and beaten again on the ground. The blond man allegedly held a large knife to his throat and threatened to kill him. At that moment, someone noticed a vehicle in the lot that they had not seen before. Spooked, the group fled in their car, leaving Sparks severely injured.
Sparks was able to make his way to a nearby residence, where occupants called 911. He was transported to Rhode Island Hospital for treatment.
Caudell’s Statement to Police
On September 21, 2018, the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory reported a DNA hit from evidence collected during the 2015 investigation. The profile matched Levi Caudell, whose DNA was in the system following a 2017 felony burglary conviction. Investigators learned that Caudell had recently been transferred from the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center to the Walter Brooks House halfway house in New Haven.
Investigators traveled to the halfway house with a warrant to obtain a DNA confirmation sample. While there, Caudell signed a Notice of Rights and agreed to speak with a Putnam Police investigator. He stated he was “clean” in the incident, claiming he had left the residence before the assault began. Caudell identified all involved parties and told investigators that when he returned from what he described as a 1.5–3 hour walk, he was assaulted by the other four individuals because they did not trust him not to talk about what had happened.
In a subsequent sworn written statement, Caudell said he was living at the Farrows Street residence at the time. He reported that Sparks and the woman accompanying him visited earlier in the day for 30 minutes to an hour. After they left, Caudell overheard Megan Klingensmith and Amy Lapointe talking quietly and suspected they were planning something. When he asked what was going on, he said he was told “none ya,” so he dropped the subject.
According to Caudell, Sparks and the woman returned after dark. Caudell said he was sitting in the living room with them and Lapointe for about ten minutes when Eric Wilkinson came out, asked Sparks’ name, accused him of selling heroin to a woman who had overdosed, and charged at him. Caudell said he realized this was the subject of the earlier hushed conversation and “wanted no part of it,” so he left the house to go for a walk.
He stated that when he returned, no one in the group would explain what had occurred. Instead, he claimed he was assaulted by Wilkinson, Justin Chase, and Brian Sautter, who punched him repeatedly. Caudell said Sautter then struck him in the ribs with the “chicken stick”—described as a 3 to 4-foot wooden dowel—until he fell to the ground, and that Klingensmith then joined in as the group kicked and kneed him until he lost consciousness.
When he regained consciousness, Caudell said he fled the residence and went to Day Kimball Hospital, where he reported being assaulted by “three unknown men” while walking on Grove Street. Records confirm he did speak with police; however, the case was closed after all investigative leads were exhausted, and Caudell never returned for follow-up. In the 2018 interview, Caudell told investigators he failed to tell the truth at the time because he was “scared beyond belief.”
After his interview and written statement, Caudell’s DNA samples were collected under the warrant and processed. Lab results determined: he was excluded from five items of evidence, could not be eliminated from three items (possibly present), and was included—meaning confidently present—on one item.
The item on which Caudell was included was a swab of a blood-like substance on the wooden dowel, believed to contain a mixture of DNA from five individuals, including Caudell.
Following the interview and laboratory results, an arrest warrant was issued for Caudell, who remained unlocated until his recent apprehension in 2025.
Status of Co-Conspirators
The following individuals have been charged or convicted based on their alleged roles in the 2015 assault:
Brian Lee Sautter (Guilty, 2022)
- Kidnapping 1st Degree
- Conspiracy to Commit Assault 1st Degree (Aid by Others)
Sentence: 25 years, suspended after 12; 12 years to serve; 5 years probation
Megan Klingensmith (Guilty, 2025)
- Kidnapping 2nd Degree
- Conspiracy to Commit Assault 1st Degree (Serious Physical Injury)
Sentence: 20 years, suspended after 9; 5 years probation
Justin Chase (Guilty, 2023)
- Conspiracy to Commit Assault 1st Degree (Aid by Others)
- Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping 2nd Degree
Sentence: 20 years, suspended after 5; 5 years probation
Amy L. Lapointe (Guilty, 2022)
- Conspiracy to Commit Assault 1st Degree (Aid by Others)
- Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping 2nd Degree
Sentence: 10 years, suspended after 3; 5 years probation
Eric Timothy Wilkinson (Arrested 2021 — Pending Plea)
Held on $500,000 bond at Cheshire CI
Charges include:
- Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping 1st Degree
- Kidnapping 1st Degree
- Assault 1st Degree
- Cruelty to Persons
- Threatening 2nd Degree
- Reckless Endangerment 1st Degree
- Conspiracy to Commit Assault 1st Degree
The woman who brought Sparks to the residence was not charged and is believed to have passed away in June 2020.
Quiet Corner Alerts was unable to identify any previous record connecting Sparks to drug dealing or the alleged heroin sale. In 2019, Sparks was convicted of human trafficking for an unrelated incident occurring in May 2016, receiving a sentence of 10 years, suspended after two, followed by five years probation.
Disclaimer: The above summary is based largely on the 2020 arrest warrant application for Levi Caudell, obtained by Quiet Corner Alerts. We were not privy to any additional documents, testimony, or information that may have later emerged during the convictions or plea agreements of the other individuals involved.