FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Waterbury, CT) – Maureen T. Platt, State’s Attorney for the Waterbury Judicial District, today announced that the Honorable Joseph B. Schwartz on January 18, 2024 sentenced Ainsley Panton, age 30, of Waterbury, to 33 years in prison for the 2022 murder of his wife, Moesha Watson Panton, age 24, in Waterbury.
Police found the victim with multiple, serious stab wounds outside her home on Willow Street in Waterbury on April 26, 2022. Evidence showed the defendant attacked his wife with a machete inside the home where small children were present. Police later found the children hiding in the home. The victim, severely wounded, exited the home where witnesses told police she collapsed and died.
On October 26, 2023, Panton pleaded guilty in Waterbury Superior Court to a charge of Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a.
“The defendant viciously slaughtered his wife, inflicting horrific injuries as she attempted to flee for her life,” State’s Attorney Platt said. “While nothing will bring her back or end the suffering of her family and friends, it is my hope that the knowledge that this admitted killer will no longer be able to harm others will provide some solace.”