On July 1, a 32-year-old Ansonia woman came home to a nightmare, and police now say her husband -- an alderman who was up for re-election in November -- was behind her attack.
The suspect, Keith Maynard, 42, resigned from his position on the Ansonia Board of Alderman on the eve of his arrest, according to the Valley Independent Sentinel.
Maynard is accused of knocking Ida Lucarelli to the ground, covering her with a blanket and hitting her with a baseball bat, police said. She did not recognize her attacker, she told police. He was wearing a mask, the New Haven Register reports.
Police investigated. They were told a man was seen running from the house soon after assaulting Lucarelli, but police could not find him. Lucarelli was taken to Griffin Hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
According to the arrest warrant, Maynard knew his then-fiancee was coming home from the gym on July 1 when he put on a mask, hid just inside the front door and attacked her when she came in. He allegedly threw a white comforter over her and kept her from getting away.
Keith stated that there may have been times when he slammed her face onto the floor, according to the arrest warrant. Maynard wouldn't say why he allegedly attacked Lucarelli, but, according to the warrant, there was another woman in his life.
Four days after the attack, the victim and Maynard, who represented the 4th ward of Ansonia, married, the Register reports.
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Lucarelli, left the house so Maynard could collect his clothes, under court order. She said she suspected that Maynard was the attacker all along, but people kept telling her it was a burglar. Now, she and her family are furious.
"We can't believe somebody could be evil enough to beat his fiancee, go back to work and then marry her four days later in front of friends and family," Jennifer Lucarelli, Ida's sister, said. "And, at the wedding, to stand up in front of 200 people and give a toast, thanking her trainers at the gym for giving her the strength to survive, all for a girlfriend. It's just shameful."
Ansonia Police investigated, went through phone records and witness accounts and came to believe that Maynard, who was now the victim’s husband, might be involved.
He denied it, police said, and told them he was working for the state Department of Transportation in Norwalk when she was assaulted.
On Aug. 20, police arrested Maynard. He posted a $50,000 bond and was released.
"I've worked with Keith Maynard for many years, while he was on the board, in matters of importance to neighborhoods, both in his ward and throughout the city. and that's why this is a sad day," Police Chief Kevin Hale told the Register. "Nevertheless, we went where the facts took us.
Maynard told his wife he'd been the masked attacker earlier in the week and asked for reconciliation, Ida Lucarelli said.
"He'd have a better chance of God coming down and marrying him," she said
