A 46-year-old American was sentenced to 65 years in prison for the murder of his wife in 2015.
At 46, Richard Dabate will spend the next 65 years of his life in prison. This American was sentenced last week for the murder of his wife, of which he was convicted last May. He continues to deny his innocence and has already announced that he will appeal, reports “People”. During the trial, the defendant claimed that a masked intruder broke into the couple’s home in Ellington, Connecticut, sticking to the version he had already spoken after his arrest.
The facts date back to December 23, 2015. That day, the husband called the emergency services, explaining that he had been tied up and tortured while his wife was killed in the cellar. But the few injuries of the man had quickly put the flea in the ear of the authorities who never stopped investigating. A little over a year after the death of Connie Dabate, the police succeeded in proving that the husband had lied in his testimony. It was the victim’s connected bracelet, a FitBit, which made it possible to advance the research. Investigators found that the woman had continued to move an hour after the time she was allegedly killed according to the testimony of Richard Dabate.
“His story made no sense”
The man had claimed that the morning Connie was attacked, he drove their two children to the bus stop and then returned home to change before leaving for work. He also explained that at that time, his wife was still at home and preparing for a sports class. A schedule confirmed by her connected bracelet which showed that she had left home at 8:46 a.m. precisely.
Then, Richard Dabate would have returned home around 9 a.m. because he had forgotten his laptop, he had told the police. There, he would have received an alert message indicating that the alarm of their house had been activated. Back home, he would have found a masked and gloved man. He was then allegedly tortured with a blowtorch and tied with adhesive tape to a chair. He was also reportedly injured with a box cutter. His wife would then have returned and he would have shouted at her to run away. But still according to him, the intruder would have started to follow her to the cellar. The husband then allegedly heard a shot. He would have finally managed to struggle and scare away his attacker before calling for help.
This version of the story was first confirmed by an email sent to his boss according to which Richard Dabate explained that he had to go home because the alarm had gone off. But Connie Dabate’s bracelet ended up revealing movements on her part, at her home at 9:23 a.m., after her supposed death. She was also active on Facebook between 9:40 a.m. and 9:46 a.m., posting videos from her phone. “His story made no sense,” a Connecticut State Police spokesperson told “People” in a 2017 interview.
During his interview with officers, Richard Dabate admitted to having had an extramarital affair which resulted in a pregnancy. He had not given details on this story, not specifying if his wife was aware of his infidelity or this pregnancy. The day before the murder, he would have sent a message to his mistress, telling her: “I see you tomorrow my little nugget of love”. A spokesman for the victim’s family said after the defendant’s sentencing that this trial showed “premeditated cold-blooded murder”.