Newly Married Anchorman, 39, Dies A Week After Starting New Job In Seattle
Nov. 8 2012, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Emmy-winning anchorman Joel Connable, who just started a new job at KOMO-TV in Seattle less than a week ago and who had recently married his longtime girlfriend, was found dead at 39 in his new home in Washington Tuesday. Officials believe he had a diabetic seizure alone followed by an insulin pump malfunction.
Connable had married paralegal Angela Shlyakhov less than two weeks before his death. A Type I diabetic since the age of 13, Connable used a therapy dog to travel at his side at all times so as to alert him to blood sugar imbalances.
The veteran newsman had worked as a reporter in Los Angeles at KCBS-KCAL for three years (2003-2006) before leaving to report and then anchor on Miami's NBC affiliate, WTVJ-TV. After parting ways with the station in a legal dispute, he took a three-year break from the news business until taking the job at Seattle's ABC affiliate, KOMO-TV.
He only worked a handful of times in the Emerald City before his tragic death, KOMO News Director Holly Gauntt told Gossip Extra.
"When he didn’t show up for work late Tuesday, we called police and asked them to do a welfare check," said Gauntt. "It’s heartbreaking. He was ecstatic to be here and to be back in the business. He was already fitting in well. He would have succeeded here, of that I am sure. The staff is in shock."
When his body was discovered, his therapy dog, Lola, was by his side.
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