New London Superior Court Judge Hillary B. Strackbein ruled Tuesday that the state has enough evidence to prosecute LaShawn "BI" Cecil for the 2011 murder of Jaclyn Wirth in Norwich even though a key witness recanted his statements to police from the witness stand.

Strackbein said that the in-court testimony of William Colello, an admitted drug dealer who had delayed the probable cause hearing due to his hospitalization in a psychiatric ward, contained so many inconsistencies that she relied on three sworn statements he provided to police in late 2014 and early 2015.

Colello, interrogated for approximately 15 hours, provided police with written statements that implicated Cecil in the murder, but said on the witness stand that he had just told police what he thought they wanted to hear.

"For whatever reason, perhaps loyalty or fear — and I quote him saying, 'Snitches get hurt' — he came to court and told a different story," Strackbein said.

The police allege that Colello drove Cecil and Harold "Haas" Butler to Wirth's apartment at 6D Baltic St. on Dec. 14, 2011, so that Cecil could collect a drug debt owed to Butler by Ezekiel "Juney" Boyce, the brother of Wirth's boyfriend.

Wirth, 26, died of multiple gunshots wounds after her killer fired nine rounds through her apartment door. Her boyfriend, Michael Boyce, was incarcerated, and she was home alone with her two young sons at the time.

The judge found the state had not proved there was probable cause to prosecute Cecil for felony murder, another crime with which he had been charged.

Colello, who was unable to testify last week because he had been admitted to the psychiatric unit at The William W. Backus Hospital, said on the witness stand Monday and Tuesday that he went along with police's version of the crime because he was tired and wanted to go home.

He said he decided to tell the truth in court after meeting over the weekend with Gregory Senick, an investigator for Cecil’s defense attorney, William T. Koch Jr.

Colello said that Senick left a business card at his home and he Googled Senick and learned that Senick, a retired state trooper, had been exonerated of a larceny charge in 2006.

Senick, he said, was the only person who would listen to the truth. Colello’s wife sat with Senick during the probable cause hearing, a fact that prosecutor Stephen M. Carney pointed out to the judge while questioning Colello.

Colello said on the witness stand that he was sorry for Mrs. Wirth's relatives but that he was not at the scene of the crime that night in December 2011.

Wirth's aunt Peggy Lufkin, who took in her two children, promised to follow Cecil's prosecution "every step of the way," and has been attending the court hearings with her husband, brother-in-law and son.

Once the judge made her finding, Cecil's attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Now that the court has bound over the case for prosecution, Koch and Carney will engage in plea negotiations in an attempt to resolve the case short of trial.

Should the case go to trial, the state would have to prove to a jury "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Cecil is guilty. The standard for a probable cause hearing is substantially lower, Strackbein said, exceeding mere suspicion but short of a preponderance of the evidence. 

To make the probable cause finding, the judge had to find that the crime had been committed, which the state easily proved by entering into evidence the 911 call that Wirth placed as she lay dying, along with testimony from first responders and a police report.  

The state had to prove also that Cecil probably committed the crime, and that's where the struggle occurred.

A man who was incarcerated for non-payment of child support testified that he overheard Cecil tell another prisoner that he shot a woman through a door and did not know she had children, but Colello's first-hand knowledge of the case was more important.

Carney said the state is continuing to investigate the crime and noted there are other witnesses who were not called to testify at the probable cause hearing.

Koch pointed to several weaknesses in the case. A neighbor of Wirth who had stepped out for a cigarette that night said he saw a 6 foot 2 inch tall man in a black hoodie walk by before hearing gunshots seconds later, Koch said.

Colello had testified that Cecil, who he saw earlier, was wearing a maroon leather jacket and a Redskins baseball cap. Cecil is approximately 5 foot 7 inches tall.  

"There's no DNA," Koch said. "There's no motive. There's no eyewitness. There's none of the evidence you have in a murder case."

k.florin@theday.com

Twitter: @KFLORIN