Guilty Plea Expected in Trautwein Murder

STAMFORD -- A former New Haven mechanic whose conviction for murdering North Stamford resident Joanne Trautwein in 2005 was overturned by the state Supreme Court a little over a year ago is expected to plead guilty to the murder. 

Harry Gonzalez, 45, who is now serving a 25-year sentence for killing his New Haven roommate, is to appear at state Superior Court in Stamford Friday morning. His attorney, Francis O'Reilly, said if the plea agreement goes forward as planned, Gonzalez will plead guilty to murder in the Trautwein case.

In 2007, Gonzalez was convicted of felony murder, robbery and kidnapping in the case involving the 75-year-old former Greenwich school teacher and sentenced to 80 years in prison.

While Gonzalez' girlfriend, Jennifer Kos, testified he killed Trautwein while she subdued the woman's roommate, the case was overturned in August 2011 on the grounds that police took statements from Gonzalez before he was read his Miranda rights and after he asked for an attorney.

The statements -- about him appearing at Trautwein's Rockrimmon Road home looking for work the day of the murder -- survived a hearing to have them suppressed at trial and were presented to the jury, which may have led to his conviction.

O'Reilly said he did not want to publicly discuss before Friday's hearing the specifics of what prosecutors are offering in return for a guilty plea.

"Ever since the case was overturned by the Supreme Court and ordered back for trial, we have been involved in lengthy negotiations between ourselves and the state and we have come to an agreement that is satisfactory to my client," he said.

O'Reilly said the sentence will be quite a bit shorter than the 80-year sentence given by Judge John Kavanewsky.

"While it is a very substantial period of incarceration, it is significantly lower than was initially imposed upon him by Judge Kavanewsky," he said.


Senior Assistant State's Attorney Maureen Ornowsky, who tried at the Stamford courthouse, would only say that Gonzalez is to come to court Friday to determine if the case can be resolved or go to trial again.

Mother-Daughter Die in Murder-Suicide

So sad, how can these things happen?


STAMFORD -- A middle-aged woman killed her elderly mother with a double-barreled shotgun and then killed herself inside their foreclosed Long Ridge Road home, Stamford police said.

Officers found their bodies just after 1 p.m. Friday while checking on the mother and daughter who lived at 1214 Long Ridge Road following reports from concerned neighbors, according to Stamford police Capt. Richard Conklin. The neighbors told police they hadn't seen the mother and daughter recently and were worried for their well-being.

Police said the shooting occurred sometime in the past 48 hours
Conklin would not identify the mother and daughter because investigators were working to contact their relatives. According to public records, Florence Beran, 85, owned the house and lived with her daughter, Susan, 57. Conklin said the daughter did not leave a suicide note, but the couple became increasingly reclusive in recent months as they dealt with mounting financial pressures.

"Neighbors who communicated with them and helped them out with food and donations saw less and less of them over recent months," Conklin said.
The mother suffered from Alzheimer's disease, and the daughter served as her caretaker, neighbors said. Police said the mother and daughter owed $50,000 in taxes to the city of Stamford and their house was in foreclosure. The home, which was surrounded by an overgrown lawn and left in disrepair, was sold during an auction last month, police said.

Electricity had been cut off from the house several months before Friday. The mother and daughter collected water with plastic jugs since their utilities had been shut off, Conklin said.

On Friday afternoon, responding officers found a "gruesome" scene when they used a ladder to enter the small, gray four-bedroom home through a second-story window, Conklin said. The front doors and first-floor windows were locked. Officers found the daughter's body in a second-floor bedroom and her mother at the bottom of stairs on the first floor.

Animal control officers took four small dogs into custody as investigators processed the murder scene, removing the shotgun in a large, brown paper bag. The bodies were taken from the house on stretchers at about 6 p.m. Friday, shortly before police cleared the area.

Investigators believe the daughter used her deceased father's shotgun to kill her mother, and then took her own life an unknown time later. Officers confiscated several hunting rifles and handguns that belonged to the daughter's father, who died several years ago
The mother died within 48 hours of the discovery of her body. A more exact time of death is pending further investigation. Police did not receive any reports of gunfire in the area before Friday afternoon, most likely because of the secluded location and heavy traffic from Long Ridge Road, Conklin said.

One neighbor, a woman who declined to give her name, said she made the call to police that led to the discovery of the murder-suicide. She said Susan took care of her mother for several years and described her as a "wonderful person."

"I'm afraid they didn't think they had anyone to turn to," the neighbor said, adding: "When people feel desperate, there are people out there who care. They didn't have to take their own lives."

Conklin said investigators contacted a lawyer involved in the home's sale Friday afternoon and learned that the mother and daughter were to receive between $200,000 and $250,000 from the transaction, after their owed taxes and other debts were subtracted from the sale proceeds. The buyers tried unsuccessfully to contact the mother and daughter following the sale, Conklin said.

"It's certainly a tremendous tragedy, especially right before Mother's Day," Conklin said.

Read more: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/policereports/article/Mother-daughter-die-in-murder-suicide-3552947.php#ixzz1ufF64dof

Driver Arrested in Fatal Accident

STAMFORD -- The driver in the High Ridge Road accident that killed a 27-year-old city woman last week was charged with manslaughter after his release from Stamford Hospital Sunday.

Giovanni Cucullo, 41, 54 Rigby St., Yonkers, N.Y., was charged with second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, operating under the influence and failure to drive right.

Maryann Loprete, of Bedford Street, was a passenger in the 2009 BMW 328i sedan Cucullo was driving, which struck a tree on High Ridge Road near Cedar Wood Road in North Stamford. A resident who heard the accident called 911 at 1:25 a.m. Thursday.

Loprete, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered severe head injuries and died shortly after she was admitted to Stamford Hospital, police said.

Cucullo, who had surgery for a lower leg injury, was released Sunday on a $100,000 bond, according to police. He is to be arraigned at state Superior Court in Stamford Feb. 16.

Maryann Loprete moved last summer from Anchorage, Ala., to Stamford, where she worked as a manager for Barcelona Restaurant and Wine Bar on Summer Street, according to her brother.

Originally from South Glastonbury, Loprete graduated Central Connecticut State University with a communications degree, and was an avid runner who ran marathons for fund-raisers, her brother said.

Cucullo's arrest followed an investigation by the Stamford Police Department's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad.