Henderson waives hearing, pleads not guilty in Stonington murder case
The 43-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing his live-in partner Brandia Irvin at their Pawcatuck home on Nov. 30 waived his right to a probable cause hearing and pleaded not guilty when he appeared Wednesday in New London Superior Court.
Relatives of the 41-year-old victim watched Carlton Henderson's brief appearance before Judge Hillary B. Strackbein.
Henderson is charged with murder, first-degree assault, risk of injury to a minor and criminal attempt to commit assault on a police officer. He is being held in lieu of a $1.5 million bond at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution.
Because he faces the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison if convicted, he was entitled to a probable cause hearing at which the state would have to convince a judge that there is enough evidence to prosecute him. His attorney, M. Fred DeCaprio from the public defender's office, said he had discussed the hearing with Henderson and they decided to waive it.
Strackbein said that pretrial discussions would begin between DeCaprio and prosecutors Christa L. Baker and Sarah E. Steere to determine whether the case could be resolved short of a trial.
The judge also granted the state's motion to take a DNA swab from Henderson for laboratory testing.
According to Stonington police, Irvin's 12-year-old son witnessed Henderson's attack on his mother and ran to a neighbor's house to report that the man he knew as "Chico" was killing his mother.
Irvin died six days later at Yale New Haven Hospital.
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