Press Releases
04/09/2024
Judge Sentences Woman to 27 Years in Prison for 2021 Fatal Shooting of Boyfriend in Middletown
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Middletown, CT) - Michael A. Gailor, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Middlesex, announced that the Honorable Julia D. Dewey today sentenced Melody Christensen, age 47, of Middletown, to 27 years in prison for fatally shooting her boyfriend on South Main Street in Middletown on March 1, 2021. Christensen had pleaded guilty to the crime of Manslaughter in the First Degree with a Firearm in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-55, in Superior Court in Middletown on January 23, 2024.
At the time of the incident, Christensen claimed that she had acted in self-defense. The investigation by the Middletown Police Department, however, showed that during a verbal argument, Christensen took a gun out of a backpack and pointed it at the victim. Christensen fired three shots at the victim before shooting herself. The case was prosecuted by State’s Attorney Gailor and Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Lesko.
State’s Attorney Gailor praised the work of the Middletown Police Department citing the thoroughness of the investigation, especially in light of the claim of self-defense.