Cape Cod Times
?November 20, 2010

Former Cape man accused of murder dies

Seven months after he allegedly attacked his wife with a blunt object and dumped her body in a ditch, a former Sandwich man has been found dead in his home, according to South Carolina law enforcement officials.

Daniel Monarch, 54, was charged in April with killing his wife, Phyllis, 49, in Conway, S.C., a town of 12,000 located 15 miles from tourist-friendly Myrtle Beach. The couple had moved from Forestdale to South Carolina six years earlier but still had extensive ties to Cape Cod.

Daniel Monarch's daughter, Megan, arrived home at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 and found her father slumped on the couch, Horry County prosecutor Jimmy Richardson told the Times Friday. She had last talked to him at 2:30 p.m., he said.

"Preliminary autopsy results indicate he died of natural causes," deputy coroner Darris Fowler told the Times Friday. "There's no reason to believe there was any foul play."

It's an abrupt end to a murder case that stunned family and friends of the couple on Cape Cod and in their new hometown.

Phyllis Monarch's sister, brother and mother live in Buzzards Bay. Her mother, Elizabeth Bradley, could not be reached for comment Friday, but at the time of her daughter's killing she said there were no signs of trouble.

"I don't know what possessed him," she said at the time of Daniel Monarch. "This just blows us away.

Megan Monarch issued this statement through a Facebook message.

"My father was the most amazing person I have ever met, he could always make me smile, even during hard times. He was very caring and supportive of all his friends and his family, and would never let any of us down. He had a love for running and a passion for New England sports.

He loved his wife (Phyllis) and his daughters unconditionally. My dad was definitely my biggest fan and always encouraged me to follow my heart. My dad was my best friend and words can not describe the pain and suffering he went through the past few months of his life, the only thing that puts my mind at ease is knowing that he is not suffering anymore. I have always and will always look up to him and will always be proud to call him my dad."

A 1978 graduate of Bourne High School, Phyllis Monarch was a long-time employee at Sandwich Cooperative and other local banks.

Both Daniel and Phyllis Monarch were divorced and had children from previous marriages.

Monarch had been released on $50,000 bail and Megan Monarch was living with him at the time of his death, Richardson said. In May, he nearly overdosed on cocaine, Richardson said, but no illegal drugs were found in the house the night he died. The overdose incident resulted in Daniel Monarch being indicted on a drug possession charge.

Monarch was on prescribed pain killers at the time of his death for a couple of back surgeries that still caused him pain, the prosecutor said. It will take up to 120 days for toxicology reports to determine whether drugs played a role in his death, Fowler said.

"You have a few of these cases where the (suspect) commits suicide," Richardson said, adding the circumstances surrounding Monarch's death are suspicious. "If he died of natural causes, that's even more strange. That would be a first for me."

Phyllis Monarch, 49, was found in a South Carolina ditch April 14, just hours after her employer reported her missing, according to the police. Her husband initially told the police that his wife, an avid runner, went out for a jog and never returned.

Though public records show the couple may have had some financial struggles, including a federal tax lien of $13,600 placed against Daniel Monarch in 2009, Richardson said no clear motive for the murder had unfolded in the past seven months.

"It was our take that he had just snapped," Richardson said. "He did something that was out of context. There didn't seem to be any ill will in the weeks leading up to the murder."