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‘Conjuring House’ owner arrested, charged with DUI – The Boston Globe

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‘Conjuring House’ owner arrested, charged with DUI – The Boston Globe


“I am not a criminal. I have never been arrested,” she wrote in a text message.

According to Police Chief Stephen Lynch, officers received calls on Monday night reporting an erratic driver.

Police found the Lexus SUV after 9 p.m. stopped on Hill Road, and as officers approached the car, allegedly driven by Nuñez, the vehicle took off, according to a police report.

Nuñez allegedly drove 51 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone, failed to stop for a stop sign, swerved into the opposite lane, and nearly drove off the road at different times during the pursuit, authorities said.

Eventually, Nuñez came to a stop on Wallum Lake Road, and officers approached the car with their guns drawn, the report states.

Body camera video footage shows Nuñez mumbling, “What’s wrong,” as officers approach her. Officers wrote they “detected the overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her breath.”According to the police report and footage from police body-worn cameras released Thursday, she repeatedly told the officers that she owns The Conjuring House, and argued with them about why she did not pull over immediately.

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Jacqueline Nuñez, who owns “The Conjuring House,” was arrested under the suspicion of driving under the influence in Burrillville, R.I. this week. Nuñez is seen here in body camera video footage released by police. Burrillville Police

Officers attempted to perform field sobriety tests, but the video shows Nuñez not following directions and laughing at officers. At one point she told police, “You’re boring me,” and accused them of trying to “save face” by administering the tests, the report states.

Police said she later refused a Breathalyzer test, but told officers she drank three cocktails that night. She was later shackled to a bed at the police station after she refused to stop “aggressively banging on the cell door and yelling,” police wrote.

In a series of text messages sent to the Globe, Nuñez claimed she passed a sobriety test and that police did not ask her to take a Breathalyzer.

She claimed police and others are “trying to drive me out of business.”

“I am terrified of this PD. I did drive past a stop sign and then pulled over on the shoulder when they approached,” she wrote. “I remember being panicked and terrified and sped up and then pulled over. I knew I was going to be harassed and possibly taken somewhere to be killed.”

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Lynch said Burrillville officers are sometimes called to The Conjuring House, where Nuñez also lives, over traffic caused by curious onlookers. On Saturday night, Lynch said, Nuñez called police to report seeing former employees near the woods. Police responded but did not find anyone there, Lynch said.

During the summer, officers also went to The Conjuring House twice with a health care provider to check on Nuñez, who was brought to a hospital on one of those occasions, he said.

Last month, Nuñez told The Providence Journal the hospital stay was orchestrated by former employees in an attempt to take control of the house.

In a series of texts with the Globe, Nuñez referred to several medical facilities but declined to provide details. “Being thrown into facilities because I am complaining about crimes against me and my legitimate business does not mean that I have psychiatric issues,” Nuñez wrote.

The DUI charges follow other Conjuring House-related controversies in recent months. The 18th-century farmhouse was the inspiration for the 2013 movie “The Conjuring,” about hauntings that plagued the Perron family there in the 1970s. Visitors come from around the world to tour the property, and some even spend the night.

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Former employees have said Nuñez owes them money, including one who said he was fired after Nuńez accused him of stealing money from the business – an accusation she said was based on a tip by the ghost of a former owner.

Guests have also complained about being asked to leave based on information she seemed to indicate was from spirits. Scott Kitlarz told the Globe he and his wife paid $1,089 to stay overnight at the house on Oct. 21. The Iowa couple left within a few hours after Nuñez asked if they were content creators and accused them of not having “good intentions,” adding, “I can feel your energy,” according to an audio recording Kitlarz provided to the Globe. He told the Globe she seemed to indicate that spirits had informed her about the Kitlarzs.

He said they brought cameras and microphones to try to capture anything otherworldly, but they are not content creators. The Conjuring House’s website states that guests may bring “ghost hunting equipment” but content creators must inform staff before they arrive. Kitlarz asked for a refund, which Nunez agreed to, but he said that as of Wednesday he had not received any part of the $1,089 he and his wife had paid.

When asked about Kitlarz’s experience, Nuñez texted that she “was alerted quickly to their intentions so I acted quickly.”

“No one with intent to hurt me or my business will get a refund,” she said.“I will not reveal my sources that look to protect me and TCH.”

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Jason Hawes, the Rhode Island-based star of SyFy’s “Ghost Hunters” television show, has also accused Nuñez of harassing him and has said he is concerned about the safety of guests who stay there.

Amidst the controversies, “The Conjuring House” has remained open to visitors, though last week, Lynch opted not to immediately approve the entertainment license for the property, citing “inappropriate” attachments with its application. Nuñez can still resubmit her application though, before her current license expires in November, Lynch said.

When asked about the license, Nuñez said she will “pursue every option to run my legitimate business.”

“Burrillville will need a compelling reason to decline it,” she said in a text message.


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Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.





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Rhode Island shifts its primary to Wednesday, Sept. 9, easing a Labor Day poll setup crunch

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Rhode Island shifts its primary to Wednesday, Sept. 9, easing a Labor Day poll setup crunch


PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island’s primary elections will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, moving it back from the typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labor Day.

Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat, signed off on the change earlier this week. The primary election had been scheduled for Sept. 8, which is the day after the holiday weekend.

State and local officials had requested the change after raising concerns about having enough time to set up polls for voters. However, under the legislation enacted, the filing deadlines will remain the same.

“We have to set up over 400 polling places around the state on the day before the election,” Nick Lima, the registrar and director of elections for the city of Cranston, told lawmakers at a hearing in January. “That’s very difficult to do on a holiday because many of our polls are schools, social halls and churches.”

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It’s not unusual for states to change their election day. Lawmakers in neighboring Massachusetts changed the state’s 2026 primary election day from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, arguing that doing so will help improve voter turnout.

Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.

Legislation seeking to move up Delaware’s primary election by several months has been introduced in the statehouse, but previous attempts to do so have stalled.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.



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RI State Police investigating Cumberland crash

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RI State Police investigating Cumberland crash


CUMBERLAND, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police are investigating a crash that happened on I-295 North in Cumberland Tuesday night.

The crash happened in the right lane near Exit 22 just before 9 p.m.

It’s unclear exactly what caused the crash or if anyone was injured.

12 News has reached out to Rhode Island State Police for more information but has not heard back.

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RI just moved its primary elections for 2026. Here’s why, and when.

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RI just moved its primary elections for 2026. Here’s why, and when.


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  • Rhode Island’s 2026 primary election day has been moved to Wednesday, September 9.
  • The change was made to avoid logistical issues with setting up polls on Labor Day.
  • Races on the ballot will include governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.

Rhode Island’s Democrat and Republican primary elections will officially be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9 this year, instead of the usual Tuesday election day.

Lawmakers passed the bill at the urging of state and local officials, who were concerned that an election day falling the day after Labor Day would not give them enough time to set up polls for the arrival of voters.

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Gov. Dan McKee signed the bill on April 20, officially moving the primary day for 2026.

Which races will be on the ballot? The Republican and Democrat nominees for a swath of local offices – most notably governor but also lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Why was RI’s primary day moved?

At a hearing on the bill earlier this year, Randy Rossi, executive director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns explained the “significant logistical and financial challenges” municipalities otherwise would have faced having an election the day after Labor Day.

“Beyond cost, municipalities face serious logistical challenges accessing and setting up more than 430 polling locations on a major federal holiday, a process that often requires many hours and access to facilities that are typically closed and unstaffed on Labor Day,” he said.

“Compounding these challenges, many municipalities conduct early voting in city or town halls that must also serve as primary day polling locations,” Rossi noted.

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Without changes to current law, he said, “municipalities would be required to conduct early voting and primary day polling simultaneously, often in the same limited space and with the same poll workers, requiring additional staffing and facilities.”

By the time this legislative hearing took place in January, other states facing similar issues, including Massachusetts, had already adjusted their primary dates, “and Rhode Island itself has demonstrated that alternative scheduling can be successful, as occurred during the statewide Wednesday primary in 2018,” Rossi said.



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