Ellington Husband Enters Plea in Wife's Murder Case

ELLINGTON, CT — The Ellington man accused of killing his wife two days before Christmas in 2015 entered a not guilty plea on Friday to charges that include murder.

Richard Dabate, 40, and his lawyer, Hubert Santos, filed an appearance at Rockville Superior court on Friday morning. In addition to the not guilty plea, he waived his right to a probable cause hearing. The warrant in the case, which also includes charges of evidence tampering and making false statements in the shooting death of 39-year-old Connie Dabate, totals 50 pages and reads like a Hollywood movie script.

Dabate is due back in court on May 26. He is free on a $1 million bond, $710,000 of which was leveraged with the equity from five family homes in the area.

He was arrested on April 14, a Friday, and first appeared in court the following Monday.

The bond was funded two days later. The state had asked for $5 million at the arraignment.

See the full story on Dabate's arrest, including details on the arrest warrant, here.

Also this week, Dabate was removed as executor of his wife's estate. Probate Judge O. James Purnell this week also appointed a guardian to represent the couple's sons Richard, 10, and Connor, 8, in court.

A probate hearing has been scheduled for May 4 in Vernon Town Hall to review that ruling.

Photo Credit: State Police/Patch