FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Hartford, CT) – Hartford State’s Attorney Sharmese L. Walcott announced today that on May 2, 2023 the Honorable Kevin C. Doyle sentenced Charles Dzurenka Jr. to 48 years in prison, and Makenzie Bezio, to a suspended 20-year prison sentence for the stabbing deaths of Sandra Marci, 78, and Marianne Marci Dzurenka, 55, in their Windsor home on May 11, 2020.
Charles Dzurenka Jr., age 20, of Windsor, on May 2, 2023 pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a, two counts of Accessory to Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a and Accessory to Commit Assault in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-59.
Bezio, age 20, of Torrington, on February 22, 2023 pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a. Judge Doyle sentenced Bezio to 20 years in prison, execution suspended after 10 years served with 5 years of probation. A third defendant, Terry T. Brown Jr., age 20, was previously convicted of Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a and sentenced on March 2, 2022 to 58 years in prison for his role in the crime.
According to court records, Bezio and Dzurenka were sentenced for their roles in the fatal stabbings of Sandra Marci, Marianne Marci Dzurenka and the wounding of Charles Dzurenka Sr., who survived the attack. According to court records, Windsor police officers on May 11, 2020 responded to a call at the Dzurenka's Windsor home following a report of a burglary and stabbing. Police learned that Charles Dzurenka Jr. had requested that Brown "get rid of" his family including his parents, Marianne Marci Dzurenka and Charles Dzurenka Sr. Bezio, upon learning of the plan, tried to talk them out of it but eventually went along with the plan. Dzurenka Jr. and Brown had multiple discussions about committing the crime, including when it would occur, where to enter the home, forms of payment for carrying out the crime and the murder weapon. Sandra Marci was present in the home at the time of the crime.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Michael W. Riley and former Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Vicki Melchiorre, with assistance from Inspector Joseph Buyak.