(Washington Insider Magazine)-ROCKVILLE, Conn. (Transatlantic Today) — A Connecticut man was given a 65-year prison sentence on Thursday for the 2015 murder of his wife, who authorities claim was wearing a Fitbit activity tracker that provided data that was in direct contradiction to his claims to the police.
A jury found Ellington resident Richard Dabate, 46, guilty of murder and other crimes in May. After the hearing in Rockville Superior Court, he asserts his innocence and wants to challenge the verdict, according to his attorney Trent LaLima.
Connie Dabate, 39, was shot dead at her home 2 days before Christmas in 2015 while her 2 young sons were at school. The unbiased evidence and information about Richard Dabate’s relationship with a woman who was pregnant at the time of the homicide and subsequently gave birth to their child attracted widespread attention.
According to Dabate, a masked intruder entered their house, killed his wife, and then bound him. He was discovered by police with minor knife wounds and one leg and one arm zip-tied to a chair.
According to state police, Dabate provided them with an account of the events that was incongruent with information from his wife’s Fitbit, which revealed she was active for around an hour after the alleged shooting, according to Dabate. State police reported that there were no indications of a scuffle inside the home.
Prosecutor Matthew Gedansky claimed in his closing remarks that Dabate devised a plan to murder his wife and stage a house invasion as his life was going to fall apart as a result of the affair with another woman as well as her pregnancy.
LaLima has cast doubt on the accuracy of Fitbit data. He added that unidentified DNA discovered in the house and a witness who claimed to have spotted an unknown individual or a deer in the area the day of the murder supported Dabate’s account of what happened. According to NBC NEWS, during the 5-week trial, more than 100 witnesses gave testimony.
