Man, 47, Gets Decades Behind Bars After Hartford Killing: State

HARTFORD, CT — A Bloomfield man will spend decades behind bars after being sentenced in connection with a 2020 killing in Hartford.

Sharmese L. Walcott, state’s attorney for Hartford, said Troy Hayes, 47, of Bloomfield, was sentenced Wednesday to 55 years in prison for the 2020 murder of Dyshawn Copeland and the assault of a second victim.

A Hartford Superior Court jury on Sept. 25, 2023, found Hayes guilty of the crimes of murder and first-degree assault, according to Walcott.

She said, on May 21, 2020, police received a 911 call from the female victim reporting she and her friend had been stabbed.

Officers responding to 40 Sherman St. in Hartford found Copeland lying on steps inside of the building.

Walcott said Copeland and the female victim were transported to the hospital where Copeland died.

The surviving victim told detectives that she and Copeland were inside her apartment waiting on a food delivery, Walcott said.

Thinking the delivery driver arrived, the female victim went to the door where the defendant was waiting, according to Walcott

According to state officials, the defendant entered the building and the female victim ran after him as Hayes rushed to her apartment to confront Copeland.

The defendant poured wine over Copeland’s head and fatally stabbed him, Walcott said.

The defendant then tried to stab the female victim, but she managed to defend herself, suffering stab wounds to the arm.

During the trial, multiple witnesses testified they saw a man on a red scooter in the area at the time of the incident, and surveillance video footage nearby showed the defendant driving his red scooter, according to state officials.

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