An investigation is underway after a woman was stabbed to death in Danbury on Friday. Police say the suspect took his own life by stabbing himself.
“I found it very shocking. I wasn’t expecting to hear something like that happen here.”
Carolyn Marengo has lived in the Mill Ridge area of Danbury for decades. She says she’s never seen this kind of police presence in her neighborhood. Danbury police saying officers were called to a deadly double stabbing.
“To see that happening in the middle of the day, it’s really scary,” Marengo said.
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It’s an area she says has many families and children. One neighbor who didn’t want her face on camera says the news is unsettling.
“I told my kids not to get out of the house today because of that,” the neighbor said.
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Danbury police say an officer on patrol heard yelling on High Ridge Road and found a man standing over a woman on the street.
Investigators say when the officer tried to help, the man stabbed himself in the chest with a knife. Police say the man, identified as 28-year-old Santos Infante-Manzanillo, had also stabbed the woman.
Both were taken to the hospital where they later died. Officers say they were in a failing relationship and lived together. Police believe the two had talked about separating.
“When an abuser loses that ability to have power over someone, often times they retaliate in significantly harmful ways,” Dr. Christine Cocchiola, a domestic violence prevention expert, said.
She says it’s not unusual to see perpetrators take their own lives in these cases.
“Often times, femicide, the murder of women is accompanied by suicide by the person who inflicted the death,” she said.
Neighbors say the victim’s family is on their minds.
“We have to pray for the families. That’s it. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again,” the neighbor said.
Police say the investigation into the stabbing deaths is still ongoing. The identity of the woman has not yet been released.
