'Evil' Was Overcome, Says Milford Murder Victim's Family

For nine years Linda Ducsay had been looking for closure concerning the murder of her daughter, Alexandra, 26, who was an aspiring model and actress.

On Monday, she took a major step toward that healing as a jury decided that Matthew Pugh, 42, of Hamden, is guilty of murdering Ducsay.

He could spend up to 80 years in prison for his crimes when he is sentenced May 11 in Superior Court, Milford.

Immediately, following Monday’s guilty verdict, Linda Ducsay told the media that Pugh is “just evil,” according to the Milford Mirror.

“Today we overcame a certain kind of evil,” Linda Ducsay said, while adding she is glad Pugh will be kept off the streets.

Alexandra’s brother, Matthew Ducsay, praised Milford State’s Attorney Kevin Lawlor and the Milford Police Department for their excellent work in the case.

“Matthew Pugh is going to be forgotten,” said Matthew Ducsay, according to the Milford Mirror, “but my sister’s memory will live on.”

Matthew Ducsay added that the past few weeks have been “excruciating,” for the family, reports the New Haven Register.

“Matthew Pugh is no more than an inmate number and a taxpayer liability,” Matthew Ducsay said, the Register reports.

Lawlor said though it took nine years to bring justice the case was never forgotten, and Lawlor recalled personally being at the murder scene almost nine years ago.

The turning point in the trial is the fact Pugh decided to testify on his own behalf. During cross-examination Pugh admitted he was in Milford on the day of Ducsay’s murder.

Pugh’s defense attorney Paul V. Carty of New Haven sid his client’s testimony backfired on him.

“Any time you expose yourself to cross-examination by a prosecutor you’re playing with fire. And he got burned,” Carty said via the New Haven Register.

The jury spent three days and 12 hours deliberating Pugh’s fate beginning last Thursday.

A Superior Court Judge increased Pugh’s bond from $3 million to $4 million on Monday as he awaits sentencing.

During closing arguments heard on Thursday the prosecutor said the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming to convict Pugh, while his attorney argued there is no physical evidence placing him at the scene of the crime.

During the trial, Ducsay’s mother and brother both testified that Alexandra was in fear of Pugh after their breakup, according to reports.

Cell phone records placed Pugh in Milford on the day of the murder, and a Pugh relative testified that he discussed killing Ducsay, the Post reports.

Pugh said he wanted to kill Ducsay and make it look like an overdose, the Register reported.

Ducsay was a model and aspiring actress, who appeared on the popular and long-running ‘Law and Order’ television series.

She graduated magna cum laude from Albertus Magnus, spent her free-time helping others, and ran a charity called Xandra’s Kids, which brought holiday gifts to needy schoolchildren.

The crime scene

A Milford police detective testified earlier this week that the crime scene was “probably the worst that I’ve ever seen,” reports the New Haven Register. When police arrived they found blood splatter on the radiator, on the wall, floor and even the ceiling, the Connecticut Post reports.

How did Ducsay and Pugh meet?

Duscay and Pugh met in a local bookstore and Alexandra was only 16 or 17 at the time her mother testified, while Pugh was much older.

Her mother, Linda, testified that her daughter was immediately ‘infatuated’ with Pugh and that he manipulated her during the whole relationship, the Post and Register report.

On one instance, Pugh stood Alexandra up for Jonathan Law High School’s Junior Class Prom, and Alexandra spent the whole night sitting at home in her dress waiting for Pugh, Linda testified.

Linda Ducsay testified that she “didn’t like him” concerning Pugh.

At one point Pugh was imprisoned for a narcotics violation. At first Alexandra visited him in prison, but over time she began to move away from Pugh finally, her family testified.

At one point, Pugh called the Ducsay household and Linda picked up and told him to leave her daughter alone, and Pugh allegedly shot back, “be careful what you say and do.”

Pugh already reportedly threatened Alexandra’s brother when he too told him that his sister was moving on.

A month before Alexandra’s murder, she told her brother that she was afraid of what Pugh might do to her, he testified.

Ducsay died from blunt force trauma and the suspected murder weapon is one of Alexndra’s trophies that went missing on the day of the murder, the Post reports.

Read the full Milford Mirror story here.

Read the full New Haven Register story here.