Victim Describes Brutal Milford Beating; Judge Drops Plea Deal

MILFORD, CT — In a crowded but quiet courtroom, Lori Weirzbicki told the story of the night she was brutally beaten by her Milford neighbor, begging the judge to grant the possibility that her attacker face a harsher sentence.

"He was never charged for what it really was: attempted murder," she said.

Less than an hour later, Judge Peter Brown determined the plea deal previously reached in the case would not move forward.

Accused in the beating is 57-year-old Russell A. Molleur, an intellectually disabled man with no criminal record. Molleur was initially charged with first-degree assault, first-degree strangulation, first-degree unlawful restraint and evidence tampering, but pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and first-degree unlawful restraint under the deal, which offered Molleur an eight-year prison sentence suspended after two years served, with the option to argue for less.

Both Weirzbicki and her brother, Stratford firefighter Tim McLaughlin, objected to the deal and spoke against it in court Wednesday, as a room filled with supporters, many wearing "Justice for Lori" stickers, looked on.

Weirzbicki told the judge that Molleur attacked her March 9 in her apartment, beating and strangling her to the extent that she repeatedly lost consciousness, before forcing her to strip, rinse off the blood in the shower, and scrub the walls and tub.

"I'm haunted by the memory of standing in that shower in a pool of my own blood," she said, adding she now uses baby wipes to clean herself.

Weirzbicki suffered severe memory loss and lives in fear of Molleur being released, she said. She has multiple sclerosis and walks with a cane, but neither of the charges listed in the plea deal acknowledge her disability, she said.

McLaughlin presented the judge with an online petition with more than 19,000 names asking to throw out the deal.

"I truly, truly feel that he is a danger to whatever community he gets released into," said McLaughlin, who repeatedly teared up while addressing the judge. "... I'm begging you to vacate the plea deal."

Public defender Susan Brown read a letter from Molleur's sister, who Brown said did not feel safe appearing in court. The letter detailed how the death of Molleur's mother five years ago led Molleur to abuse alcohol and called for him to be placed in a supervised facility, saying Molleur has the mental capacity of a child aged 12 to 15.

Susan Brown also noted that Molleur asked a neighbor to call police after the attack, stayed with Weirzbicki until help arrived, and admitted responsibility for her injuries.

"He is part of the population that needs to be protected in society," Susan Brown said.

After a recess, Judge Peter Brown said the proposed deal was inappropriate — a decision received with illicit applause from those in attendance. Molleur's pleas were vacated and the case was returned to the pretrial docket, with a Feb. 13 court date.

Molleur is also accused of threatening, unlawful restraint and disorderly conduct in a separate 2018 case involving a complainant who suffers from a profound intellectual disability and cannot testify, prosecutor Chuck Stango said. That case has been essentially dormant as the charges involving Weirzbicki have moved through the legal process, he said.

Weirzbicki and McLaughlin were greeted with applause as they left the Milford courthouse. McLaughlin said he hopes his sister's case will lead to tougher victim's rights legislation and added that he is in talks with state Sen. James Maroney to make that happen.