Arrest in Woman’s Killing Brings Relief, but Then Come the Shocks

Residents of the New Frontier Mobile Home Community were wrestling Wednesday with a welter of emotions after the arrest of a neighbor on suspicion of killing his wife.

First, there was relief that an arrest had finally been made in the death of Phyllis New, 58, found dead of a gunshot wound Oct. 15 in her bed.

“This is a park predominantly of little old ladies, widows, and a lot of them have been scared to death that a killer was on the loose,” said Emma Nuzzo. “A lot of them have been scared to go out at night. They’re like prisoners in their homes.”

There was surprise that New’s husband, William Peter New, 57, known as a man who loved country music and often sat on his porch waving to neighbors, was the slaying suspect.

“We socialized a little bit, and they always seemed like such a nice couple,” said Dorothy Essig. “I never heard of any problems.”

Along with relief and surprise comes shock: New has also been arrested in connection with the 1973 death of his first wife in San Bernardino.

“I’m stunned, we’re all stunned,” said Eleanor Cobb.

“I think we all feel better that an arrest has been made but never figured on something like this,” said George Jones.

New Frontier is a gated community in this middle-class suburb east of San Diego. For a couple to move in, one of the partners must be at least 55 years old.

Phyllis New worked as a workers’ compensation claims adjuster. William New, who served in the military in Vietnam, was unemployed, a fact that was “a source of friction” in the marriage, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kurt Mechals.

New is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in El Cajon Superior Court. Under an agreement between county prosecutors in San Bernardino and San Diego, the case will be tried in San Diego County.

Like Phyllis New, Somsri New, 28, was found dead of a gunshot wound in the family home.

San Bernardino officials declared the Sept. 9, 1973, death of Somsri New an accident, and no charges were filed. New remarried soon after the death of his first wife; that marriage ended in divorce.

William and Phyllis New had been married 28 years. In a mobile home park where many residents have lived for years, the News were relatively recent arrivals.

They lived in Los Angeles for two decades, then in Lakeside before moving to Santee about two years ago.

New told Sheriff’s Department investigators in October that he had gone to an all-night pharmacy to get headache medicine for his wife and that when he returned at 3 a.m. he found the door open and his wife dead. New was arrested without incident Tuesday night.

Prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies declined to say what evidence led to New as a suspect in either of the deaths or why the current case required an 18-week investigation.

“We just didn’t want to rush things,” Mechals said. “Investigators wanted to be very thorough.” He declined to say when investigators discovered the 1973 death of New’s first wife.

There is conflicting evidence about whether the gate to the mobile home park was functioning the night Phyllis New was killed. During the lengthy investigation, William New continued to be friendly to neighbors, although that unnerved some.

“He always seemed strange, sitting there in his bathrobe, waving to people,” Nuzzo said. “I didn’t want him waving at me.”