The fate of an Ellington man accused of killing his wife and staging a cover-up is now in the hands of a jury.
The trial was five weeks long and the jury has 600 exhibits and the testimony of 130 witnesses to consider in their deliberations.
Richard Dabate is accused of killing his 39-year-old wife, Connie, in December 2015. He has been charged with first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and providing a false statement.
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Richard said his wife Connie was killed around 9:05 a.m., but her Fitbit and surveillance video and GPS cell phone data show that Connie had gone to the YMCA and didn't return until 9:18 a.m. that morning.
Her Fitbit showed casual walking around at 9:27 a.m. and gave no indication she was ever running from an attacker. Her last movement was at 10:05 a.m.
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The state also questioned how a masked intruder got into the home when Richard was home the entire morning. It was also questioned why there was no sign of forced entry and absolutely nothing was stolen.
Richard's defense attorney then reminded the jury that Fitbit devices are not 100% accurate and said it would be difficult for his defendant to stage a crime scene within the six minutes between 10:05 a.m. and when he set off the alarm system.
The defense also said that the DNA of an unidentified man was found in six different places including the upstairs closet door, the family safe and the handle of the gun used to kill Connie.
On Tuesday, the jury asked for a transcript or recording of the direct questioning and the cross-examination of the expert who testified about the DNA.
We spoke to Richard's attorney on Monday after closing arguments.
“All the way through I’m not going to comment any further. The jury's now deliberating. Obviously working very hard. They’ll be back tomorrow while they continue that," Attorney Trent LaLima said.
A motive the state has argued in this case was that Richard got his mistress pregnant, but during his testimony, Richard said Connie knew and their relationship was improving.
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