Defendant In Middletown Homicide Case Remanded To Psychiatric Unit

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A defendant in a 2021 fatal stabbing case in Middletown has been remanded to psychiatric authorities.

Middlesex Judicial District State's Attorney Michael A. Gailor said Tuesday a three-judge panel Tuesday committed 21-year-old Middletown resident Eugenio Vela III to the jurisdiction of the Psychiatric Security Review Board for up to 30 years.

The panel, he said, found that the state "proved beyond a reasonable doubt" that Vela intentionally committed a homicide. The panel found him not guilty, however, because the judges concluded that, "at the time he committed the offense, he lacked substantial capacity, as a result of a mental disease or defect, either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or control his behavior," Gailor said.

Judges Laura F. Baldini, Elizabeth C. Leaming and Eliot D. Prescott presided over the trial.

According to case records, on May 20, 2021, Vela, who was 18 at the time, stabbed a woman more than 20 times in Middletown.

He will be confined in the maximum security section of Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown, Gailor said.

The case was prosecuted by Gailor and Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Jason Germain.

The Psychiatric Security Review Board, which is composed of individuals with expertise in the fields of law, psychology, psychiatry, victim's services, probation/parole services, and the interests of the community, is responsible for overseeing the confinement and treatment of persons acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect. The board is required to "consider the protection of society and the well-being of the person committed," according to state officials.