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A two-hour particular of NBC’s “Dateline” will give attention to the homicide of Connecticut mom Connie Margotta Dabate and the conviction of her husband, Richard Dabate, who earlier this yr was sentenced to 65 years behind bars after a jury discovered him responsible of her homicide.
Connie Dabate, a 39-year-old mom of two, was discovered lifeless within the basement of her Ellington house simply earlier than Christmas in 2015. Her household waited six years for her case — dubbed the ‘Fitbit homicide’ — to go to trial.
[ Richard Dabate sentenced to 65 years in ‘Fitbit murder’ of wife ]
The particular will air on NBC at 9 p.m. Friday and options interviews with Connecticut State Police detectives, members of Connie Dabate’s household and State’s Lawyer Matthew C. Gedansky, who prosecuted the case in Rockville Superior Courtroom final spring.
Prosecutors introduced forth proof for weeks, pinning a good quantity on their case on information from Connie Dabate’s hip-worn Fitbit. Information from the gadget contradicted the timeline Richard Dabate repeatedly gave of an alleged bloody house invasion.
Dabate informed investigators, and the jury, that he got here house the morning of his spouse’s demise to discover a camouflage-clad intruder of their house who stole his pockets, shot his spouse, attacked him and left him tied to a folding chair on the ground of their kitchen.
[ Richard Dabate takes the stand in Fitbit murder trial, denies role in wife’s death while questioned about discrepancies in timeline ]
Connie Dabate’s FitBit, nevertheless, confirmed that she was transferring round after she was allegedly shot by the intruder and didn’t mirror what information would seemingly present if she had been operating for her life, prosecutors argued in courtroom.
The state known as an professional on such units and their information to the stand to assist their case, whereas Dabate’s protection staff, led by legal professional Trent LaLima, argued that the information collected by FitBits and comparable units are unreliable.
Investigators additionally uncovered proof of Richard Dabate’s extramarital affairs, together with one with a lady who was pregnant along with his youngster on the time of the homicide. The lady, who gave start to their daughter in 2016, testified at trial.
[ Richard Dabate was ‘ticking time bomb’ in love with two women, running out of time, state says; jury expected to begin deliberating Monday in ‘Fitbit murder’ ]
Over 5 weeks, attorneys questioned and cross-examined greater than 130 witnesses and launched greater than 600 items of proof. Jurors spent just a few hours deliberating earlier than returning their verdict that very same day.
The jury discovered Dabate responsible of homicide, tampering with bodily proof and giving a false assertion. He had pleaded not responsible to all costs and maintained his innocence by the trial and on the day of his sentencing, saying “I’ll by no means cease looking for justice for my spouse Connie who I really like and consider day by day, and I’ll by no means cease looking for justice for myself.”
[ Jury begins deliberating Richard Dabate’s fate in Fitbit murder trial ]
Decide Corinne Klatt, who handed down Dabate’s sentence, mentioned in courtroom that Connie Dabate’s homicide was “brutal, calculated and it was an incomprehensible act” that was dedicated “by the hands of an individual who at one level vowed to like and shield her.”
Gedansky mentioned in courtroom that the crimes had been a part of “a egocentric, cowardly evil plan” that, he argued, Dabate created to cowl up his affair and keep away from a divorce.
Dabate, 46, was free on bond for greater than six years as he awaited trial. He’s now in custody on the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Establishment in Suffield, in response to the state Division of Correction.
[ Richard Dabate found guilty in Fitbit murder trial, bond increased to $5 million ]
The couple’s sons reside with Connie Dabate’s sister.
In a sequence of emotional sufferer influence statements delivered in courtroom, Connie’s household claimed that Richard Dabate spent the entire couple’s property, which they claimed was primarily earned by Connie Dabate, leaving simply $6.24 for his or her boys to inherit.
[ Connie Dabate’s family and friends finally feel a sense of justice after Richard Dabate’s guilty verdict six years after her death ]
Lawyer LaLima mentioned after Dabate’s sentencing that they’d enchantment his conviction. He constantly argued at trial that there was not sufficient proof to convict his consumer.