Attorneys talk evidence as trial date nears in Griswold triple homicide
Attorneys for Sergio Correa and the state continue to hammer out evidentiary issues as jury selection nears in the Griswold triple murder and home invasion case.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin March 16 before Judge Arthur C. Hadden in New London Superior Court. Twelve jurors and several alternates will be selected. The trial tentatively is scheduled to begin on May 4 and take two to three weeks.
State police say Correa, 28, and his younger adopted sister, Ruth, went on a killing spree on Dec. 20, 2017. They are accused of stabbing 21-year-old Matthew Lindquist and leaving his body in a wooded area, then going to the Lindquist family home and viciously killing Lindquist's parents, Janet and Kenneth, before setting their house on fire and stealing Matthew Lindquist's car.
Ruth Correa is cooperating with the state and is expected to describe the crimes in detail on the witness stand at her brother's trial in exchange for a 40-year prison sentence.
Several survivors of Matthew, Janet and Kenneth Lindquist are expected to be at the trial and are working with court-based victim advocates and Survivors of Homicide.
Sergio Correa, as defense attorney Joseph E. Lopez pointed out during a brief court appearance Friday, faces "the most serious charge(s) with the most serious punishment under the penal code of the State of Connecticut." He could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of murder with special circumstances, three counts of felony murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree arson, second-degree arson and home invasion.
Lopez has been urging the state to turn over all the evidence in advance of the trial. He filed a motion Thursday asking the court to compel the state to disclose all of its evidence prior to the start of jury selection and to preclude the state from introducing at trial any evidence not previously disclosed.
"These orders are necessary to not only safeguard the defendant's rights but to thwart what has the potential to become a trial by ambush absent these orders," said the motion, filed Feb. 27 by Lopez and Correa's other attorney, Corrie-Ann L. Mainville.
Lopez also referenced during Friday's court appearance outstanding search warrants for social media records and SIM cards, a PowerPoint presentation being prepared by FBI Special Agent James Wines, who is a cellphone expert, and sealed mental health and Department of Children and Family records that need to be examined by the court for admissibility rulings prior to the trial. He also referred to an undisclosed "identification" issue with a witness and asked if the defense could "watch" when the person is re-interviewed by state police.
Judge Hillary Strackbein said she would arrange for the attorneys to meet with the trial judge, Hadden, prior to the start of jury selection to discuss the evidentiary issues.
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