Ellington Murder The Focus Of Friday Dateline NBC Report

ELLINGTON, CT — The Ellington murder case of Connie Dabate and the eventual conviction of her husband, Richard, will be the focus of a Dateline NBC report scheduled to air Friday.

The two-hour special airs at 9 p.m. and featured interviews with "key insiders" in the case, including Connecticut State Police detectives, Tolland State's Attorney Matthew Gedansky and Connie Dabate's family members. The report, hosted by Andrea Canning, is entitled, "The Secrets of Birch View Drive," referring to where the family lived in Ellington.

See a sneak peek of the Dateline report here. An accompanying teaser reads, "After an apparent brazen home invasion during the holiday season in a quiet Connecticut community leaves Connie Dabate dead, investigators discover a silent witness that cracks the case wide open."

In May, Richard Dabate was convicted of killing his wife, Connie, in what prosecutors termed a staged home invasion on Dec. 23, 2015. In August, he was sentenced to 65 years in prison in Rockville Superior Court.

Richard Dabate was ordered by Judge Corinne Klatt to serve 60 years for the murder conviction and five years for evidence tampering, but they will be served consecutively. Dabate was also give one year — concurrent with the sentences — for a false statement conviction.

The 60 years were recommended by Gedansky. Dabate had turned 45 when the trial was being held. Dabate was arrested in April 2017.

The case itself dates back to two days before Christmas in 2015. That day, 39-year-old Connie Dabate was found dead at the couple's Ellington home. The warrant by which Richard Dabate was charged with murder reads like a Hollywood script with a "home invasion" gone haywire. Prosecutors argued it was staged by Richard Dabate, who was accused in a 50-page warrant of having an affair with another woman, getting the girlfriend pregnant and then scripting an involved story that included him being tied to a chair with an intruder beating him up before shooting his wife.

Richard Dabate told state police investigators that he had dropped the couple's children off at 8:10 a.m. and was eventually headed to work, while Connie Dabate went to the local YMCA for an exercise class, according to a warrant. Richard Dabate said he had turned around and went back home after forgetting his laptop, according to a warrant.

That's when the twists and turns began to take shape, according to a warrant.

Richard Dabate told state police that he came home to encounter a "large" male intruder, dressed in camouflage and wearing a mask, according to a warrant. He said he was beaten up and tied to a chair, according to a warrant. He also told state police there was a struggle between his wife and the intruder before hearing the family gun go off.

State police did not agree with Richard Dabate's account of what happened and, after what they called a "long and exhaustive" investigation, arrested him several months later, according to a warrant.

(See the full story on Richard Dabate's arrest, including more details on the arrest warrant, here.)

Richard Dabate was stoic during most of his three-hour sentencing hearing and occasionally glanced at his late wife's friends and family when they asked for a harsh sentence, citing what was termed the family's "life sentence." He was subdued as his family and relatives asked for leniency. He was called a good father by family members. The defense asked for a lighter sentence based on Richard Dabate having no criminal record or history of violence prior to the murder.

The couple's two boys are now with family members on Connie Dabate's side.

Motions to suppress the results of Richard Dabate's hospital interviews and a motion for a new trial were denied Thursday. A motion to toss evidence that included tracking Connie Dabate's actions the day of her murder via a "Fitbit" device was also denied. It was new technology that hadn't been proven to be reliable, the defense argued.

Prosecutors said the evidence against Dabate was clear, and cited testimony saying that trained police dogs tracked his whereabouts and pinpointed him to the Ellington home on the day his wife was killed.

In his first public comments since the arrest, Richard Debate told the court, "I am here as an innocent man." He said he was never a violent individual and said prosecutors were out to "seek victory over truth." He said he would "never stop pursuing justice for Connie and my own justice."

Evidence at the trial included 600 exhibits and the testimony of 130 witnesses. It lasted 22 days.

In addition to the fitness tracker, forensic examinations of various forms of technology included Richard Dabate's computer tablet, the home's alarm system and each of the couple's cellphones contradicted Richard Dabate's claims that a masked intruder perpetrated the murder, Gedansky said.

Dateline NBC was present at the sentencing.