Cold Cases - Arrests and Convictions
William Devin Howell - Convicted
WILLIAM DEVIN HOWELL pled guilty to killing five women and a man whose bodies were found in a wooded area of New Britain after he was previously convicted of manslaughter in the slaying of another woman. Howell entered pleas to six counts of Murder in New Britain Superior Court, where he was sentenced in November 2017 to 360 years in prison, or six consecutive life sentences.
Howell was formally charged on September 18, 2015, in the deaths of three women whose identities under Connecticut state law are confidential because they were victims of sexual assault. He also was charged in the deaths of Marilyn Gonzalez, born October 16, 1976, who was last seen on May 16, 2003, in Waterbury; Mary Jane Menard, born May 7, 1963, and who went missing in October 2003; and Danny Lee Whistnant, born October 5, 1958, and who was reported missing on June 24, 2003.
Howell is serving six sentences of life in prison. Under Connecticut law, life in prison is defined as 60 years with a mandatory minimum penalty of 25 years on each count, resulting in a total effective sentence of 360 years, 150 years of which are mandatory.
The remains of the six victims were found buried in a wooded area behind a shopping center on Hartford Road in New Britain. At the time he was charged in those deaths, Howell was in prison for his conviction for Manslaughter in the First Degree for the homicide of Nilsa Arizmendi. She was last seen alive on July 25, 2003, in Wethersfield. Her remains were found in the same wooded area of New Britain where the other victims were buried.
His arrest was the result of an investigation by the Greater New Britain Serial Murder Task Force, which was established to investigate the cases. The task force included members of the New Britain, Hartford, Wethersfield, Waterbury and East Hartford police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain. The task force was assisted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Division of Scientific Services Forensic Science Laboratory, the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, the Hampton Police Department in Virginia and the Bertie County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina.
Brandon Letman - Arrested
BRANDON LETMAN was arrested December 2019 and charged with two counts of Murder, Murder with Special Circumstances, Assault in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Firearm in the 2016 fatal shootings of Cameron Mounds and Ashley Spence in Hartford.
On June 21, 2016, Hartford police responded to 97 Enfield Street on report of a shot spotter activation and 911 calls reporting injured parties. Officers found three victims had been shot. Ashley Spence, age 21, was transported to Saint Francis where she was pronounced dead. Cameron Mounds, age 19, was found in the driveway of 98 Enfield Street where he was pronounced deceased. A third victim, Harold “Oink” Cook, age 39, survived a gunshot wound to his buttocks. Subsequent investigation determined that an argument ensued between Letman and the victims just prior to the shooting.
The arrest is the result of an investigation by the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and the Hartford Police Department. The case will be prosecuted by the Cold Case Unit and the Hartford State’s Attorney's Office. The charges are merely accusations and Letman is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
James Raynor - Arrested
JAMES RAYNOR was arrested in February 2019 and charged with Murder in the 2002 shooting death of Harry Baez in Hartford.
On May 10, 2002, Hartford police responded to 47 Center Street for a report of a person shot. Officers found the 25-year-old victim down on the street with bullet wounds to the head and shoulder. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Subsequent investigation determined that Baez was shot during a fight he was involved in near the house where Raynor lived.
The arrest is the result of an investigation by the Hartford Police and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney. The charge is merely an accusation and Raynor is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Raynor is currently serving a 37-year prison sentence for his conviction in an unrelated case.
William Winters Leverett - Arrested
WILLIAM WINTERS LEVERETT was arrested in September 2018 and charged with murder in the November 2014 homicide of Melissa Millan in Simsbury.
On November 20, 2014,
Simsbury police responded to a report of a female pedestrian lying in the
roadway on Iron Horse Boulevard shortly after 8 p.m. When 
the first officer responded,
several people were standing over a woman lying on her left side covered in
blood next to the footpath near the Rotary Park playground. Officers performed
CPR on the unresponsive victim who was then transported to St. Francis Hospital
in Hartford where she was pronounced dead shortly before 9 p.m.
The victim was subsequently identified as Ms. Millan, age 54, a senior vice president with MassMutual Life Insurance Company. The mother of two, she competed in triathlons and frequently ran at night in Simsbury.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Leverett went to the Simsbury Police Department in September 2018 and admitted to the crime, which he allegedly committed at age 23. The charge is merely an accusation and he is presumed innocent until found guilty.
The homicide was investigated by the Simsbury Police Department with support from the FBI, the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, the Hartford Police Department, Avon Police Department, Connecticut State Police, the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney, the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Forensic Science Laboratory and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
Brock Davis - Convicted
BROCK DAVIS is serving a 50-year prison sentence for the slaying of Joseph Lindsey in Hartford.
Davis was found guilty of Murder by a Hartford Superior Court jury in March 2019. According to evidence presented at his trial, he was seen on video walking into a package store on Albany Avenue in Hartford and then moments later stabbing the victim of the sidewalk at the intersection of Albany Avenue and Baltimore Street.
Lindsey, the father of 10 children, died following the stabbing on December 9, 2015. Davis was arrested following an investigation by the Hartford Police Department assisted by the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney.
Rafael Ortiz -Convicted
RAFAEL
ORTIZ was convicted of Murder for the 2003 homicide of Benjamin "Benji" Baez, who was shot to death while sitting in a parked car in the North End of Hartford.
Ortiz, who previously lived on
Wilson Street in Hartford, was arrested in October 2017 in New York by Hartford Police
detectives assigned to the Cold Case/Shooting Task Force Unit in the Office of
the Chief State’s Attorney.
He was convicted by a Hartford Superior Court jury in February 2019 of one count of Murder for the death of the 27-year-old victim, who was fatally wounded while sitting inside of a parked car in the area of 1305 Main Street in Hartford on June 11, 2003. Ortiz is now serving a 50-year prison sentence.
The case was investigated by the Hartford Police Department in conjunction with the Cold Case/Shooting Task Force Bureau.
Baez’ slaying was featured in the fourth edition of the cold case playing cards produced in conjunction with the Department of Correction and sold to inmates in the Connecticut corrections system. Information on Baez’ death was described on the six of diamonds card.
The case was prosecuted by the Cold Case/Shooting Task Force Unit.
Hakeem Atkinson - Arrested
HAKEEM ATKINSON was arrested in September 2017 and charged with
Murder in the slaying of Joseph "Jabs" Bateman, who was fatally shot
behind the Avalon Gates housing complex on Belden Avenue in Norwalk on February
3, 2012.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Atkinson was 16 years old when Bateman was shot to death in a crime related to street gang activity in Norwalk. Atkinson was 22 years old and living in Bridgeport at the time of his arrest.
The arrest was the result of an intensive investigation by the Norwalk Police Department in conjunction with the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk.
Bateman’s death was featured in the fourth edition of the cold case playing cards produced in conjunction with the Department of Correction and sold to inmates in the Connecticut corrections system. Information on Bateman’s death was described on the nine of diamonds card.
The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk and the Cold Case Unit. The charge is merely an accusation and Atkinson is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ibo Boone - Arrested
IBO BOONE, age 30, was arrested in September 2017 and charged with Murder in the death
of Mic
hael “Mizzy” Robinson, Jr., who was shot to
death in the area of South Main Street and Grove Street in Norwalk on October
29, 2010.
The arrest was the result of an intensive investigation by the Norwalk Police Department in conjunction with the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Boone was 23 years old at the time of the homicide, which was related to street gang activity in Norwalk. The charges are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Robinson’s slaying was featured in the fourth edition of the cold case playing cards produced in conjunction with the Department of Correction and sold to inmates in the Connecticut corrections system. Information on Robinson’s death was described on the king of clubs card.
Boone was 30 years old at the time of his arrest. He most recently was living in Waterbury. The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk and the Cold Case Unit.
Harold Cook - Gerund Mickens - Terrell Hunter - Jesus Ashanti - Douglas Lee - Convicted
Federal juries convicted four men and a fifth man pled guilty in the January 2009 murder of Charles Teasley.
HAROLD COOK, also known as “Oink,” 41, of Bloomfield, GERUND MICKENS, also known as “Breeze,” 42, of Bloomfield, and TERRELL HUNTER, also known as “Rell” and “Killer,” 36, of Hartford, were each found guilty of one count of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of using a firearm during a kidnapping and causing a death, and one count of using a firearm during a Hobbs Act robbery and causing a death.
DOUGLAS LEE, also known as "Fly," was convicted following a separate trial of one count of kidnapping resulting in death. JESUS ASHANTI, also known as "Black," age 42, formerly of Hartford, pled guilty in July 2018 to one count of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of using a firearm during a kidnapping and causing a death, and one count of using a firearm during a robbery and causing a death.
The charges resulted from a long-term investigation by the FBI's Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, the Hartford Police Department and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney. Teasley was found dead on January 12, 2009, in a car parked on Colebrook Street in Hartford. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head and face, and his hands were zip-tied behind his back. According to court records, Cook, Mickens, Hunter and Ashanti had kidnapped Teasley and forced him into his own vehicle. They then forced to make a telephone call directing his girlfriend to bring a safe he had hidden at his home. The four defendants then drove Teasley to a residential section of Hartford and murdered him, the indictment alleged.
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| Jesus "Black" Ashanti | Harold "Oink" Cook | Terrell "Rell" Hunter | Gerund "Breeze" Mickens | Douglas "Fly" Lee |
Harold Patterson - Convicted
HAROLD PATTERSON, age 35, was found guilty by a jury following a trial in Hartford Superior Court for the deaths of Lamar Gresham, 21, and Carlos Ortiz, 23, who were mortally wounded on Edwards Street in Hartford in the early morning hours of August 25, 2008.
Patterson was arrested as a result of an investigation by the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in conjunction with Hartford Police, the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
Patterson was sentenced in July 2019 to serve 100 years in prison.
The homicides of Gresham and Ortiz were featured on the five of clubs card in the third edition of the cold case playing cards produced in conjunction with the Department of Correction and sold to inmates in the Connecticut corrections system.
According to the arrest warrants, subsequent investigation determined that shell casings found at the scene of the homicides were fired from a gun used in another homicide for which charges are pending. The gun has not been recovered, according to the warrant.
Harold Patterson - Convicted
HAROLD PATTERSON was convicted in September 2009 for the fatal shooting of Raymond "Flip" Hite on June 5, 2008, on Acton Street in Hartford.
Patterson, age 34 at the time of his arrest, was arrested as a result of an investigation by the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in conjunction with Hartford Police, the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Hite, age 34, had been shot multiple times when police found him lying in the middle of Acton Street shortly before 12:30 a.m. on June 5, 2008. Subsequent investigation determined that shell casings found at the scene of the homicide were fired from the same gun used to commit two other homicides in Hartford in 2008. The gun has not been recovered, according to the warrant.
Patterson pled guilty in September 2019 to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm. He is serving a 10-year sentence, which will run concurrent with the 100-year sentenced he is already serving for two other homicides.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.Robert White - Convicted
ROBERT WHITE, a serial sex offender previously convicted of killing two women in H
artford, was convicted in 2018 of the
slayings of two more women in the capital city. White pled guilty under the Alford doctrine to one count of Murder for the 1997 slaying of Shiraleen Crawford and one count of Murder for the 2012 slaying of Sonia Rivera.
The arrest was the result of an investigation by the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney in conjunction with the Hartford Police Department.
At the time of his guilty pleas in June 2018, White was already serving a 50-year prison sentence for his conviction for Murder in the death of Sawarie Krichindath, who was found slain in her Hartford apartment on March 16, 2013. He was previously convicted in 1980 of Manslaughter in the First Degree in the beating death of Betty Robertson, also in Hartford.
According to the arrest warrant affidavits, White is a registered sex
offender with a "pattern of violence again
st women, often including violent
sexual encounters."
Shiraleen Crawford, age 30, was found dead in her apartment on Martin Street in Hartford on August 14, 1997. An autopsy determined she died from blunt trauma to the head and also suffered stab wounds to the head, chest and neck. Sonia Rivera, age 48, was found unresponsive in an alley off Washington Street in Hartford on September 27, 2012. The victim of trauma to her head and face, she died in the hospital on October 3, 2012.
White was sentenced to 50 years in prison on each of the Murder charges for his latest convictions. The sentences will run concurrent to each other but consecutive to his previous sentence for a total of 100 years to serve in prison.
Jose Ramos - Convicted
JOSE E. RAMOS was convicted of Murder for the 2008 homicide of Tynell "Blue" Harwick in Norwich.
Ramos was found guilty in February 2016 of one count of Murder following a jury trial in Norwich Superior Court. He was sentenced in April 2016
to serve 60 years in prison. In imposing the maximum sentence for Murder, the judge noted the defendant's complete lack of remorse
and his dishonesty, and characterized the state's case as
"overwhelming."
Ramos was arrested in Queens, N.Y., on September 25, 2012, and waived extradition to Connecticut.
A 29-year-old resident of Norwich, Mr. Hardwick was with friends at Rumors Cafe at 88 Boswell Avenue in Norwich. As he left the cafe at about 11:45 p.m. with his friend he was shot and killed by an unknown assailant.
The case was one of those featured in the second edition of Cold Case playing cards produced by Cold Case investigators and distributed through the state’s correctional institutions. The Hardwick case was featured on the Ace of Spades card.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New London.
Arthur Stanley - Convicted
ARTHUR STANLEY, also known as "Wiggs," 26, was convicted by a federal jury in December 2016 of the 2011 slaying of Keith Washington.
At approximately 9:28 p.m. on July 15, 2011, Hartford police responding to a report of shots fired found an unconscious man on the front porch of the residence at 67 Oakland Terrace.
The victim, subsequently identified as Keith Washington of Windsor, was transported to the hospital where he died on July 17, 2011.
Stanley, an active member of a Hartford street gang, is charged with engaging in a Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering, namely the murder of Keith Washington.
Stanley was found guilty by a jury following a trial in the United States District Court on December 19, 2016. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2017, when he faces a mandatory term of life in prison.
The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, Hartford Police Department and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney. The FBI Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.
Hector Torres - Convicted
HECTOR TORRES pled guilty in June 2015 to Murder for the slaying of Derrick Comrie, who was gunned down on January
10, 2006, outside of Bulkeley High School in Hartford after a basketball game at
the school.
Torres was arrested as the result of an investigation initiated after investigators received a tip through the cold case playing cards. The cards, made available to inmates in Connecticut’s correctional institutions, include information on an unsolved homicide or missing persons case.
Derrick Comrie was featured on the 9 of clubs card in the second deck of the cards, which are produced under a joint effort of the Department of Correction and the Cold Case unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
Torres was sentenced in July 2015 to serve 37 years in prison for his conviction in the death of Derrick Comrie and for Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder charges for the slaying of Luis "Berto" Benitez.
James Raynor - Kendel Jules - Convicted
KENDEL "YACHT" JULES was convicted of Manslaughter 
in the First Degree with a Firearm in connection with the 2009 slaying of Kenneth Carter in Hartford. JAMES "APE" RAYNOR was convicted of Assault in the Second Degree and Conspiracy in the case.
Jules and Raynor were linked to a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation in the North End of Hartford, which was the focus of an investigatory grand jury.
Carter was found with gunshot wounds to the neck and chest in a vehicle near 10 Liberty Street in Hartford shortly before 11 p.m. on July 25, 2009. Investigators determined that while attempting to drive away from the scene after being shot Carter’s vehicle struck two unoccupied parked vehicles. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Jules and Raynor were arrested as a result of an 18-month grand jury investigation conducted by Superior Court Judge Trial Referee John F. Mulcahy, Jr. The grand jury investigation was the key component of a major mul
ti-jurisdictional investigation into violence in Hartford that also included the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford, Hartford Police, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney.
Raynor was arrested in February 2015 and pled guilty on April 21, 2015, to Assault in the Second Degree and Conspiracy to Commit Assault in the Second Degree. Jules was arrested March 30, 2015, in Staten Island, N.Y. He pled guilty in September 2018 to Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm and is scheduled to be sentenced to 18 years in prison followed by 10 years of Special Parole.
Donald Raynor - Convicted
DONALD “AMEN” RAYNOR is serving a 60-year prison sentence for the 2007 shooting death of Delano Gray in Hartford.
The 22-year-old victim was found with multiple gunshot wounds lying in a driveway on Enfield Street in Hartford on June 18, 2007. Subsequent investigation determined that Mr. Gray was targeted by a rival group and was standing on the street when he was fired upon from a passing vehicle.
Raynor was 29 years old when he was convicted in March 2015 of Murder by a Hartford Superior Court jury. He was sentenced to life in prison, which is defined as 60 years under Connecticut law.
Raynor was arrested in June 2013 as a result of an investigation initiated as a result of a tip received through the cold case playing card project, which sells prison inmates decks of playing cards with information about unsolved homicides and missing persons cases.
The unsolved homicide of Delano Gray was described on the 8 of clubs card in the second issue of the playing cards, which are produced through a joint project of the Department of Correction and the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
The case was part of a major multijurisdictional investigation into violence in the City of Hartford, including the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford, Hartford Police, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney.
Matthew Pugh - Convicted
MATTHEW PUGH is serving a 60-year sentence for Murder and Burglary for the the
homicide of Alexandra Ducsay.
Ms. Ducsay was found deceased in her home on Booth Bay Street in Milford on May 19, 2006. An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the manner of death was certified as homicide.
Pugh, formerly of Hamden, was arrested in September 2012 as a result of a lengthy investigation conducted by detectives from the Milford Police Department in collaboration with the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Ansonia/Milford. During the course of the investigation, the case was featured on the Cold Case Playing Cards distributed in the Connecticut corrections system.
Pugh was convicted in March 2015 of Murder and Burglary on the First Degree after a jury trial in Milford Superior Court. He was sentenced on May 11, 2015, to serve 60 years in prison. The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Ansonia-Milford.
Jimel Frank - Karl Roye - Convicted
JIMEL FRANK, also known as "30" and "Velly," pled guilty and KARL "EAGLE" ROYE was convicted after a trial for the April 2011 homicide of Anthony "Smooth" Parker in Hartford.
Frank pled guilty in United States District Court to one count of Committing a Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering, namely the death of Anthony Parker. Roye was convicted following a federal jury trial of one count of Committing Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering and one count of Conspiracy to Commit a Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering. He was sentenced in November 2017 to a term of life imprisonment.
At approximately 
10:47 a.m. on the morning of April 6, 2011, Hartford Police
responding to a report of gunshots fired in the city's Blue Hills section found
Mr. Parker in the driver's seat of a vehicle in the driveway at 15 Thomaston
Street. The 24-year-old victim was unconscious and suffering from multiple
gunshot wounds that subsequently proved fatal.
Frank and Roye were arrested on federal complaints brought in February 2015
as a result of a long-term investigation into narcotics trafficking by the
WestHell and Team Grease street gangs and gang-related violent activity.
The homicide of Anthony Parker was included in cold case playing cards sold to inmates in Connecticut’s state correctional facilities. Each card in the deck features a photograph and brief details about a homicide or missing person case and lists telephone, mail and e-mail contacts that inmates can use to supply information.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, DEA, Hartford Police Department and Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney. The FBI Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.
Lashawn "B.I." Cecil - Convicted
LAWSHAWN "B.I." CECIL was convicted in February 2017 by a jury in New London Superior Court of Murder for the 2011 shooting death
of Jaclyn Wirth in Norwich. Cecil was also subsequently convicted of Criminal Possession of a Firearm in the same case.
Twenty-six-year-old Jackie Wirth was fatally shot in her apartment on East Baltic Street in Norwich on December 14, 2011. Jackie left behind two young sons who were present when she was tragically killed. She had no known enemies and was devoted to raising her sons.
Cecil was arrested in 2015 by members of the Southeastern Connecticut/New London County Cold Case Squad, working with the Norwich Police Department. The Norwich police had requested the assistance of the Cold Case Squad in August of 2014, and Jackie Wirth was featured on the Queen of Diamonds card in the third edition of the Connecticut Cold Case playing cards.
At the time of his arrest in February 2015, Cecil was 33 years old and in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Correction on charges stemming from a series of shootings that occurred in Norwich in 2012. He is scheduled to be sentenced on the Murder conviction in April 2017 when he faces up to 60 years in prison on that charge and up to 5 years for Criminal Possession of a Firearm.
Noel Maldonado - Convicted
N
OEL MALDONADO was convicted of Accessory to Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm in connection with the slaying of Luis "Berto" Benitez.
The 28-year-old victim was found wounded in the parking lot of a convenience store on New Britain Avenue in Hartford in the early morning hours of December 7, 2009. He died March 14, 2010, from injuries sustained in the attack, and his death was ruled a homicide.
Maldonado, a 25-year-old Hartford resident at the time of the slaying, was arrested in January 2014 on a warrant issued as a result of a grand jury investigation into organized criminal activity, including homicides, in Hartford. He pled guilty in December 2017 to one count of Accessory to Commit Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm and was sentenced in February 2018 to serve 12 years in prison followed by 5 years probation.
Hector Torres - Convicted
HECTOR TORRES was convicted in May 2015 of Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder in
the slaying of Luis "Berto" Benitez .
The 28-year-old victim was found wounded in the parking lot of a convenience store on New Britain Avenue in Hartford in the early morning hours of December 7, 2009. He died March 14, 2010, from injuries sustained in the attack, and his death was ruled a homicide.
Torres, a 26-year-old resident of Hartford at the time of the slaying, was arrested in January 2014 on a warrant issued as a result of a grand jury investigation into organized criminal activity, including homicides, in Hartford.
He pled guilty to Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder in May 2015 and was sentenced in July 2015 to serve 37 years in prison for the Benitez homicide and the slaying of Derrick Comrie.
Gerald Brian Tuttle - Convicted
GERALD BRIAN TUTTLE pled guilty in August 2016 to the 1998 strangulation death of Gertrude "Trudy" Ochankowski in East Hampton.
Tuttle was arrested in December 2013 at his home in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, and charged as a result of an investigation conducted by the East Hampton Police Department in conjunction with the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Middlesex and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
He pled guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree and one count of Kidnapping in the Second Degree. Ms. Ochankowski was reported missing on January 11, 1998. Her body was found the following day in a stream in an area known as Engel’s Falls. An autopsy determined she had been strangled.
Tuttle entered his guilty plea pursuant to the Alford doctrine under which a defendant does not admit guilt, but agrees that the state has enough evidence to get a conviction. He was sentenced on December 6, 2016, to an effective sentence of 30 years in prison to be followed by 5 years probation.
Darius Armadore - Gerjuan Tyus - Convicted
DARIUS ARMADORE and
GERJUAN TYUS were convicted of Murder for the 2006 shooting death of Todd Thomas in New London.
Armador
e and Tyus were arrested as a result of an investigation by the New London
Police Department in conjunction with the Southeastern Connecticut/New London
County Cold Case Unit and also involving the FBI. The arrests were the first for the New London Police Department working in
conjunction with the Cold Case Unit.
Mr. Thomas, age 30, was shot at approximately 12:15 a.m. on December 23, 2006, outside of a cafe located on Bank Street in New London.
Investigators believe the shooting was in retaliation for an incident that occurred three weeks earlier in which Mr. Thomas is alleged to have shot Gerjuan Tyus in a dispute over jewelry. Tyus suffered non-life threatening injuries in that incident.
Armadore and Tyus were identified by investigators as gang members with ties to Dorchester, Mass. At the time of their arrests in the homicide case, both Armadore and Tyus were being held in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Correction on unrelated charges. Both were 32 years old at the time of their arrests.
Both were convicted of Murder on November 19, 2015, by a jury following a trial in New London Superior Court. The cases were prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New London.
Irene Reynolds - Convicted
IRENE REYNOLDS pled no contest in
December 2012 to one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree in connection
with the death of her adoptive mother, Bertha Reynolds, in Norwich on July 9,
1993.
Irene Reynolds was arrested in May 2010 as a result of an investigation conducted by the Norwich Police Department in conjunction with the Southeastern Connecticut/New London County Cold Case Unit.
She was charged in the death of her adoptive mother, Bertha Reynolds, who was found dead at the foot of the basement stairs in the victim's home on Laurel Hill Avenue in Norwich. An autopsy determined the 60-year-old victim had been beaten and strangled.
Irene Reynolds, who had been adopted as an infant by the victim and her husband, was 21 years old at the time of the crime.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New London.
Dickie Anderson, Jr. - Convicted
DICKIE E. ANDERSON, JR. was
convicted in April 2012 of Murder for the homicide of Renee Pellegrino. The
41-year-old victim was found dead by Waterford Police on June 25, 1997, on
Waterford Parkway South
, a dead-end street in a rural area of Waterford.
Anderson was arrested on June 1, 2010, as a result of an investigation conducted by the Southeastern Connecticut Cold Case Unit. He was convicted of Murder on April 4, 2012, following a trial by a jury in the Superior Court for the Judicial District of New London.
An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Ms. Pellegrino had been strangled, and her death was ruled a homicide. Anderson, a resident of New London, was 27 years old at the time of the crime and age 40 at the time of his arrest.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New London .
Luis Sanchez - Convicted
LUIS SANCHEZ was convicted
in October 2013 for the slaying of one person and wounding of two others
outside of a club on Franklin Avenue in Hartford on October 7, 2010.
Sanchez, who was 22 years old at the time of his arrest, was found guilty by a Hartford Superior Court jury of Murder and two counts of Assault in the First Degree.
He was sentenced in January 2014 to serve 65 years in prison - 55 years for the Murder conviction and five years on each count of assault. The terms will run consecutively.
He was arrested in February 2012 as a result of an investigation by the Major Crimes Division of the Hartford Police Department in conjunction with the Hartford Shooting Task Force and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney .
According to testimony at his trial, Sanchez opened fire on a group of individuals outside of 451 Franklin Avenue in Hartford shortly before 1 a.m. on October 7, 2010. Jeanna Flores , age 27, died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Two men with her were wounded.
Also convicted on charges related to the investigation were SANTOS GONZALEZ , found guilty of Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree and GINA COLON , convicted of Hindering Prosecution in the Second Degree and Tampering with a Witness.
The cases were prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford .
Luis A. Rodriguez - Convicted
LUIS ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ
was convicted in August 2013 in the strangulation death of
Kelsey Monahon , who was found mortally wound
ed in her Milford
home on May 25, 2001.
Rodriguez pled guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree and is expected to be sentenced to serve 20 years in prison.
Mrs. Monahon, 28, was found unresponsive, the victim of an apparent burglary and robbery in her home on Bittersweet Avenue in the Wildemere Beach neighborhood of Milford. She died three days later in Bridgeport Hospital without regaining consciousness.
An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined she was the victim of strangulation and her death was ruled a homicide.
An arrest warrant was issued in January 2011 charging Rodriguez as a result of an investigation conducted by Milford Police Department in conjunction with the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State ’s Attorney and the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Ansonia-Milford . Rodriguez, age 53 at the time of his conviction, was extradited to Connecticut in June 2013 from Oklahoma where he was serving a federal prison sentence in an unrelated case.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Ansonia-Milford .
Bruce Gathers - Convicted
BRUCE GATHERS
pled guilty in March 2013 to Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm in
the 2006 shooting death of Sean R. Hill in Norwich.
He was sentenced in June 2013 to serve 10-1/2 years in prison to be followed by
4-1/2 years of special parole.
Gathers was incarcerated on related charges at the time of his arrest in 2010 following an investigation by the Norwich Police Department and the Southeastern Connecticut/New London County Cold Case Unit .
Gathers pled guilty in New London Superior Court pursuant to the Alford doctrine under which a defendant does not admit guilt, but agrees that the state has enough evidence to get a conviction.
Gathers and Gregory Smith were previously convicted and sentenced to prison for their roles in a robbery and assault that occurred before Sean Hill was mortally wounded in the area of Boswell Avenue and Lake Street in Norwich minutes after midnight on June 3, 2006. The 19-year-old victim was hit by a shot that rang out after a man he was with that night fled a Boswell Avenue apartment where he had been assaulted and robbed.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New London .
Gregory Smith - Convicted
GREGORY SMITH was convicted
in 2013 of Manslaughter in the Second Degree in the death of
Sean R. Hill.
Smith and Bruce Gathers were previously convicted and sentenced to prison for their roles in a robbery and assault that occurred before Sean Hill was mortally wounded in the area of Boswell Avenue and Lake Street in Norwich minutes after midnight on June 3, 2006.
The 19-year-old victim was hit by a shot that rang out after a man he was with that night fled a Boswell Avenue apartment where he had been assaulted and robbed.
Smith was arrested in 2010. He was convicted in 2013 of Manslaughter in the Second Degree and sentenced to six years in prison. The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New London .
Gathers pled guilty in March 2013 to Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm.
Peter Waraksa - Convicted
PETER WARAKSA pled guilty
on October 11, 2012, to criminal charges stemming from the deaths of
an East Windsor couple found dead in their home following a fire in 1986.
Waraksa was sentenced to serve eight years and eight months in prison to be followed by ten years of special parole in the deaths of Orie “Harold” Weeks, age 59, and his wife, Assunta Weeks, age 57. Waraksa was a member of the Warehouse Point Fire Department at the time of the fatal fire on October 7, 1986, at the Weeks’ home at 17 Broadview Lane in East Windsor.
Waraksa pled guilty in Hartford Superior Court to two counts of Negligent Homicide and one count each of Arson in the Third Degree and Burglary in the Second Degree.
He was arrested in July 2010 – more than 23 years after the crime -- as a result of an investigation conducted by the East Windsor Police Department in conjunction with the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
Quan Morgan - Convicted
QUAN MORGAN was convicted in
October 2011 of the murder of Shawn Dudley some five years earlier in
Hartford.
Morgan was arrested in February 2011 as a result of information received through "cold case" playing cards distributed to inmates throughout the Connecticut prison system.
Mr. Dudley, 19, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of September
24, 2006, while attending a party at the West Indian Social Club at 3340 
Main Street in Hartford. He was confronted on the dance floor
by several males, one of whom pulled a handgun and shot him once in the chest.
“A break came in the investigation when Shaun Dudley’s homicide was recently highlighted as the Nine of Diamonds in the “ Cold Case Cards ,” said Hartford Police Major Crimes Supervising Sergeant Brandon O’Brien. “The information received is what broke the case open for us leading to Morgan’s arrest.”
The arrest was the first resulting from information received as a result of the distribution of the cards, which feature the names and photographs of victims of unsolved homicides, missing persons and unidentified remains cases.
Morgan pled guilty in Hartford Superior Court on October 12, 2011, to one count of Murder for the Dudley homicide. At the time of his arrest, he was being held in the custody of the Department of Correction in the unrelated shooting death of Edward Haslam in Hartford on October 3, 2009, for which he has since been convicted. That arrest also resulted from an investigation by Hartford Police and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney.
Antwan Sease - Quan Morgan - Convicted
ANTWAN SEASE and
QUAN MORGAN were convicted in the 2009 shooting death
of Edward Haslam in Hartford.
At 2:49 a.m. on October 3, 2009, Hartford Police received a report of a man shot at Main and Montville streets. Responding officers found Mr. Haslam, age 41, in his car suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest in the parking lot of "Club Vibz" at 3155 Main Street.
Mr. Haslam died of his injuries. An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest and the case was ruled a homicide.
Subsequent investigation determined that Mr.
Haslam was shot as he attempted to drive away while being robbed. His car
crashed into a fence and utility pole where it was found by emergency personnel
responding to the scene.
Quan Morgan was arrested on May 21, 2010. On May 17, 2011, he pled guilty in Hartford Superior Court to one count each of Felony Murder, Robbery in the First Degree and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the First Degree. Morgan was 21 years old at the time of his arrest.
Antwan Sease, a 21-year-old resident of Enfield at the time of his arrest in July 2010, was convicted in June 2011 by a jury in Hartford Superior Court of one count each of Felony Murder, Robbery in the First Degree and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the First Degree. He is serving a 60-year prison term.
The investigation was conducted by the Hartford Police Department and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney. All charges will be prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
Paul Davis - Convicted
PAUL DAVIS was convicted in March
2013 of Accessory to Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Criminal Attempt
to Commit Murder in the death of a Hartford teenager who was gunned down
with a friend in a 2006 drive-by shooting.
Davis and Ackeem Riley were arrested in August 2009 and charged in the
homicide of 15-year-old Kerry Foster and wounding of a second, 14-year-old
teenager in a drive-by shooting that occurred in front of 50 Clark Street in
Hartford on May 28, 2006. Charges against Riley are 
pending in Hartford Superior Court.
Davis was sentenced in May 2013 to serve a total effective sentence of 100 years in prison. The case was investigated by the Major Crimes Division of the Hartford Police Department in conjunction with the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and the State of Connecticut Department of Correction. The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
At the time of his arrest, Davis was in the custody of the Department of Correction serving a 9-year sentence for an unrelated crime.
Officers ascertained that the victims had been standing in front of 50-52 Clark Street when a vehicle or vehicles pulled up and numerous gunshots were fired at both teenagers. The vehicle or vehicles then sped off. Officers found expended 9 mm casings and projectiles in front of 50-52 Clark Street.
Ackeem Riley - Convicted
ACKEEM RILEY pled no contest and was found guilty in April 2015 of Accessory to Murder in the homicide of Kerry Foster on May 28, 2006, in Hartford.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison plus an additional 15 years for another shooting that also occurred in 2006. The sentences will run concurrent to his sentence for the murder of Tray Davis.
At approximately 11:24 p.m. on May 28, 2006, Hartford Police responded to a
report of a drive-by shooting in front of 50 Clark Street. Fifteen-year-old Kerry Foster was suffering from gunshot wounds to the head and chest. The
second victim, a 14-year-old Hartford resident, was suffering from gunshot
wounds to the back and groin.
Kerry Foster was transported to Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 11:53 p.m. Officers ascertained that the victims had been standing in front of 50-52 Clark Street when a vehicle or vehicles pulled up and numerous gunshots were fired at them. The vehicle or vehicles then sped off.
Riley was 16 years old at the time of the shootings. Another man charged in the case, Paul Davis, was convicted in March 2013 following a trial in Hartford Superior Court.
Ackeem Riley - Convicted
ACKEEM RILEY was
convicted on March 3, 2009, in the 2006 shooting death of 16-year-old Tray
Davis in Hartford.
Tray was shot on November 17, 2006, at approximately 5:59
p.m., outside 714 Garden
Street . Two other victims, a 13-year-old male and a
21-year-old male, were also discovered at the scene. All three were transported
by ambulance to area hospitals. Tray was pronounced dead a short time
later.
On December 5, 2007, Riley, then age 18, was arrested by Hartford Police and charged in connection with the homicide.
He was convicted on March 3, 2009, following a jury trial in the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Hartford of being an Accessory to Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, two counts of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder and two counts of being an Accessory to Assault in the First Degree.
Tray was visiting his grandmother on November 17th and had been outside in the neighborhood and socializing with friends when he was killed. A quiet boy with a strong bond to his twin sister, he appears to have been an innocent bystander.
The case was investigated by the Hartford Police Department and the Cold Case Unit of the Chief State's Attorney's Office with the assistance of the Bloomfield Police Department.
Pedro Miranda - Convicted
PEDRO MIRANDA , a registered sex offender
from New Britain, was convicted on April 26, 2011, of four counts in the
1988 murder of Carmen Lopez in Hartford.
A jury in the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Hartford found Miranda guilty of one count of Capital Felony, one count of Murder, one count of Felony Murder and one count of Kidnapping in the First Degree.
He was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of release on the Capital Felony charge and 100 years on the other charges. He died in prison in 2018.
Ms. Lopez, age 17, was last heard from by relatives on January 2, 1988. She was found strangled on January 5, 1988, in an apartment on Nelton Court in Hartford.
The Cold Case Unit initiated its investigation of the homicide in July 2008 after new information was brought to the attention of the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford by the Connecticut Innocence Project of the State of Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services .
A Petition for a New Trial was granted on December 19, 2008, in the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Hartford for another individual who had been convicted in the homicide of Carmen Lopez. That conviction has since been vacated.
Pedro Miranda - Convicted
PEDRO MIRANDA
was convicted on March 5, 2015, of Murder for the death of Mayra Cruz,
whose body was found in a wooded area of East Windsor on November 8, 1987.
Miranda was found guilty by a jury in Hartford Superior Court where he was sentenced in April 2015 to sixty years in prison. He is already incarcerated for his conviction for the Murder of Carmen Lopez.
Mayra Cruz, age 13, was reported missing when she did not return home from school in Hartford on October 8, 1987.
Miranda, who was age 51 at the time of his arrest in 2008, was required to register on the State of Connecticut Sex Offender Registry as a result of his conviction for the May 29, 1998, sexual assault of a 24-year-old woman in West Hartford.
Alexander Torres - Samuel Quiles - Convicted
ALEXAN
DER TORRES and
SAMUEL QUILES were convicted in connection with the
homicide of Efrain Rodriguez , who was fatally wounded outside of a
Hartford restaurant on November 10, 2007.
Torres, who was 16 years old at the
time of the crime, was arrested on August 1, 2008. He subsequently pled guilty
to Manslaughter in the First Degree and was sentenced to 20 years in
prison. Torres was arrested following an investigatory grand jury
investigation into the Rodriguez homicide.
Quiles, a resident of Middletown who was 25 years old when arrested on October 7, 2009, was sentenced in March 2010 to five years in prison for Carrying a Pistol Without a Permit, Possession of Narcotics and Perjury for lying to the investigatory grand jury.
At approximately 1:45 a.m. on November 10, 2007, Hartford police officers on patrol in the area of 1995 Park Street heard several gunshots coming from the MiBar restaurant.
Officers located a 19-year-old male lying on the sidewalk suffering from a single gunshot wound to the leg. He was transported to Hartford Hospital for treatment of a non-life threatening injury.
Mr. Rodriguez, a 30-year-old resident of Avon, Connecticut, was subsequently found in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m.
The case was investigated by the Major Crimes Division of the Hartford Police Department and the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney .
The cases were prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
Duane Foster - Convicted
DUANE FOSTER pled guilty in April 2010 to one count of Kidnapping in
the First Degree for the January 1988 kidnapping, robbery and sexual
assault of a Hartford woman. Foster was arrested in November 2008 as a result
of a Cold Case investigation by the Major Crimes 
Division of
the Hartford Police Department , the State of Connecticut Department
of Correction and the Cold Case Unit of the Chief State's Attorney's
Office .
Foster was 47 years old at the time of his arrest and incarcerated in Virginia for an unrelated crime.
Also known as LEONARD MARTIN , ANTHONY MARTIN and DWAYNE FOSTER , he lived near the location on Charter Oak Avenue in Hartford where the then-26-year-old victim of the 1988 kidnapping was beaten, robbed of her jewelry and money and then sexually assaulted. Police found the victim in the early morning hours of January 22, 1988, bleeding profusely from her face. Her injuries required seven stitches over one eye.
The law applicable to the case placed a five-year statute of limitations on the prosecution of Sexual Assault and Robbery committed in 1988. However, there is no statute of limitations on the prosecution of Kidnapping in the First Degree, the offense to which Foster pled guilty more than twenty years after the crime was committed.
He was sentenced in April 2010 to serve 11 years in prison for the kidnapping conviction. The sentence is addition to the sentence he received for other offenses. The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
Edwin Snelgrove, Jr. - Convicted - Case Closed
EDWIN SNELGROVE, Jr.,
was convicted of Murder in February 2005 following a lengthy trial
in Hartford Superior Court for the slaying of Carmen Rodriguez . On
April 15, 2005, Snelgrove was sentenced to life in prison, which is defined by
state law
as a term of sixty years.
The conviction was affirmed by the Connecticut Supreme Court, which in September 2008 rejected an appeal brought on behalf of Snelgrove challenging the jury's guilty verdict.
The victim was last seen with Snelgrove leaving a bar on Capitol Avenue in Hartford on September 21, 2001. Her body was discovered in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, in January of 2002.
The Hartford Police Department , Hopkinton (R.I.) Police Department , Rhode Island State Police and Connecticut State Police engaged in a joint investigation. The Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney joined the investigation in October 2002. The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford .
Snelgrove was arrested in 2003. He has previous convictions for Manslaughter and Attempted Murder from two separate incidents that occurred in New Jersey in the 1980s.
Matthew Johnson - Convicted - Case Closed
MATTHEW JOHNSON was
convicted in February 2004 of three counts of Murder for the slayings of three
women who were found murdered in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford.
He was arrested as a result of an investigation by the Cold Case Unit , Connecticut State Police , the State Police Forensic Laboratory DNA Section , the State of Connecticut Department of Correction and the Hartford Police Department into the deaths of nine women in the Hartford area over the course of seven years.
Five deaths occurred in a particular area of Asylum Hill, and three of the victims were tied to Johnson by DNA evidence. Johnson was convicted in the deaths of Aida Quinones , whose body was found April 16, 2000 at 85 Laurel Street, Hartford; Rosali Jimenez , whose body was found August 29, 2000 at 50-52 Cedar Street, Hartford; and Alesia Ford , whose body was found on July 22, 2001, at 1 Myrtle Street, Hartford.
The cases were prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.
Omar Ali - Convicted - Case Closed
OMAR ALI (also known as Herbert L.
Ross, Sr. ) was convicted on August 19, 2003, of Felony Murder and Murder
for the 1980 stabbing death of Darrel K. Ashton in Burlington,
Connecticut.
Ali, who lived in Waterbury, Connecticut, at the time of his arrest, was arrested in November 2000.
Mr. Ashton was found dead in his Burlington home on May 11, 1980. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be multiple stab wounds and also showed that the 44-year-old victim had suffered asphyxia by strangulation.
The arrest and conviction of Omar Ali was the result of an investigation conducted by the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney and the Connecticut State Police . Instrumental to the case was fingerprint and DNA evidence recovered from the scene of the crime and analyzed by the State Police Forensic Laboratory .
Ali was sentenced in November 2000 to a term of 25 years to life imprisonment. The Connecticut Appellate Court rejected an appeal filed on his behalf and upheld his conviction in a decision officially released on November 29, 2005.
Gregory McArthur - Convicted - Case Closed
GREGORY McARTHUR was convicted on
December 13, 2002, of Felony Murder, Manslaughter in the First Degree,
Kidnapping in the First Degree and Larceny in the Third Degree in the January
1998 slaying of Ann Marie Cusano of Shelton, Connecticut.
Ms. Cusano was reported missing on January 4, 1998. Investigation by the Shelton Police Department led police investigating her disappearance to the Hartford apartment where McArthur lived.
The Hartford Police Department joined the investigation. The crime scene was processed and police were subsequently able to obtain an arrest warrant for McArthur before her remains were found. McArthur subsequently led detectives to the victim's remains in a wooded area of Suffield, Connecticut, in 2000. The Connecticut Appellate Court upheld his conviction in June 2006.
Jeanette Poulin - Convicted - Case Closed
JEANETTE POULIN pleaded guilty under the
Alford Doctrine on October 15, 2002, to Manslaughter in the First Degree for
the August 1986 death of her infant son, Daniel Poulin , in Bristol,
Connecticut.
Poulin was arrested at her home in New York City on March 2, 2001, and subsequently extradited to Connecticut.
The Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner had initially attributed the death of the six-week-old child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but the cause of death was reclassified as "undetermined" after investigators reviewed a previously sealed case report from the State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families.
A law enacted in 1996 gave investigators access to those files. The investigation by the Cold Case Unit and the Bristol Police Department determined that Daniel Poulin had been suffocated. Ms. Poulin is serving a 15-year prison sentence.
Nicole Pelletier - Convicted - Case Closed
NICOLE PELLETIER was convicted on May 20, 2002, of Murder
as an Accessory in the beating death of her husband, Olidor Pelletier.
The 31-year-old victim died 13 days after he was found severely beaten in the family home in the Terryville section of Plymouth, Connecticut, on October 2, 1989.
Shortly after her husband's death, Ms. Pelletier returned to her native New Brunswick, Canada. The State of Connecticut successfully extradited her in July 2001 on a warrant charging her with Murder as an Accessory.
Her arrest followed an investigation by the Cold Case Unit and the Plymouth Police Department , which determined that Ms. Pelletier planned the murder with her then-boyfriend, Jose Rubert .
Rubert, who was sentenced to a 30-year prison term for the murder, testified against Ms. Pelletier at her trial. She is now serving a 60-year prison sentence.
Edward Grant - Convicted - Case Closed
EDWARD GRANT was convicted on May 28,
2002, of Murder for the homicide of Concetta "Penny" Serra.
The jury's guilty verdict in New Haven Superior Court came some twenty-nine years after the 21-year-old dental assistant was found stabbed to death in a New Haven parking garage on July 16, 1973.
The verdict also concluded one of the most widely publicized homicide investigations in recent state history, which involved the New Haven Police Department, Connecticut State Police and the Cold Case Unit.
Grant's conviction was upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court, which denied his appeal in a decision issued in April 2008.
Grant, an auto body mechanic, was living in Waterbury, Connecticut, when he was arrested on a warrant issued in June 1999. He was connected to the crime through DNA analysis of evidence found at the scene and analyzed by the State Police Forensic Laboratory.
DNA analysis found there was a less than a one in 878 million chance that DNA found on a bloodstain recovered from the scene came from someone other than the defendant. Grant was sentenced in September 2002 to serve 20 years in prison.
The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Haven.
Gino Gentile - Edgar DeJesus - Convicted - Case Closed
GINO GENTILE and EDGAR DeJESUS
were both convicted in the March 17, 1997, robbery and slaying of San
Chiu Wong as a result of a Cold Case investigation by the New
Britain Police Department and the Cold Case Unit.
The victim was shot to death at the Chinese restaurant he owned in New Britain, Connecticut. Witnesses testified that Gentile shot the victim in the head to avoid being identified in the robbery.
At the time of his conviction, Gentile was serving a 40-year prison sentence for two homicides in Patterson, New Jersey. In the subsequent investigation of the New Britain homicide, firearms experts from the Connecticut State Police Forensic Laboratory were able to prove conclusively that the same handgun was used in the New Jersey and New Britain homicides.
Gentile was sentenced to 100 years in prison on his convictions for Murder, Robbery in the First Degree and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the First Degree. DeJesus, the "wheelman" in the robbery, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the Second Degree and was sentenced in April 2002 to 19 years in prison.
Bill Roy Henderson - Convicted - Case Closed
BILL ROY HENDERSON was convicted on
November 5, 2001, of Murder as an Accessory, Conspiracy to Commit Murder and
Tampering with a Witness for the July 24, 1996, killing of 19-year-old
Hayfield Hemley on Adam Street in Hartford.
The evidence produced during his trial before a jury in Hartford Superior Court revealed that Henderson enlisted MICHAEL WRIGHT to murder Mr. Hemley. Wright pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree and was sentenced to a total of 48 years imprisonment for crimes against Mr. Hemley.
Following his conviction, Wright cooperated with the prosecution and testified against Henderson. Another defendant, FRANZ MURRAY, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy and Accessory to Assault charges. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison, suspended after seven years served, and five years' probation.
GARY SIMMS , also known as DONYELL RUTHERFORD , was arrested on April 19, 2006, in New Britain. In 2008 he pled guilty to Tampering with a Witness and Conspiracy to Commit Assault in the First Degree.
The case was investigated by the Cold Case Unit, the Major Crimes Division of the Hartford Police Department and the State of Connecticut Department of Correction.
Angela Dressel - Lisette Carrucini - Convicted - Case Closed
On October 15, 1997, shortly before 1 a.m.,
Michael Gratic was found on the sidewalk on Sergeant Street in Hartford
by police responding to a report of a person stabbed.
Mr. Gratic, who was the victim of an attempted robbery, was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The case went unsolved until 2001/2002 when a unit consisting of the Hartford Police Department, Cold Case Unit, State of Connecticut Department of Correction and Connecticut State Police arrested ANGELA DRESSEL and LISETTE CARRUCINI , who was also was known by the name Torres.
Angela Dressel pleaded guilty in December 2004 to Manslaughter and was sentenced to twenty years’ incarceration, suspended after fifteen years served, and five years’ probation. Lisette Carrucini pleaded guilty in February 2005 to Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the First Degree and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Orville Owens - Earl Josephs - Convicted - Case Closed
On June 10, 1998, the body of Lizzette
Hamilton was found inside her apartment on Morris Street in Hartford.
The victim was bound by duct tape about the face, wrists and ankles and had been stabbed numerous times.
The homicide was investigated by a task force that included the Office of the Chief State's Attorney, the Hartford Police Department, FBI, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut .
Fingerprints were obtained from the duct tape which led to ORVILLE OWENS . Owens and a second individual, EARL JOSEPHS , were arrested on Federal charges. Both pled guilty in Federal court.
Dale Stewart - Convicted - Case Open
On June 9, 1998, two bodies were found in
penthouse apartments on Main Street in Hartford. The bodies were badly
mutilated and the victims appeared to have been tortured.
The victims were identified as Audley Palmer and Samantha Mitto , both of whom were Jamaican nationals. Subsequent investigation disclosed that Mr. Palmer was involved in drug trafficking and that an individual identified as DALE STEWART had worked for him.
The further investigation revealed that Stewart and another man robbed, tortured and killed both victims. Stewart was arrested and convicted in federal court.
The arrest and conviction were the result of the investigation by the Office of the Chief State's Attorney , the Hartford Police Department , United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut , Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), State of Connecticut Department of Correction , Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) . The second suspect is still unidentified.