Jury selection underway for ex-Norwalk official’s murder trial in tenant’s death
Ellen Wink is accused of killing her tenant after disagreements over rent.
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Three women, including a medical student and a real estate agent who’s also a landlord, were chosen Tuesday as the first jurors in Ellen Wink’s upcoming trial. The former Norwalk official is charged with murder in the death of her tenant, Kurt Lametta, over three years ago.
Testimony is set to start Tuesday, June 3, before a panel of 12 regular jurors and four alternate jurors. Jury selection at Stamford Superior Court continues Wednesday morning. The trial is expected to wrap up the week of June 16.
The jury won’t have to determine if Wink shot Lametta but whether it was murder. The case dates back to Jan. 20, 2022, when Norwalk police responded to 16 Nelson Ave. after a 911 call from Wink, who owned the home. According to a police report, Wink told the dispatcher that she’d shot her tenant five times after Lametta came at her. The report also noted that Wink said, "I'm so tired of this guy."
Wink and Lametta had ongoing issues after Lametta allegedly stopped paying rent in September 2020 and Wink wanted him out. Before Lametta’s death, police were called to the home five times in four months. That included on Sept. 18, 2021, when police arrested Wink for changing the locks on the home and throwing out Lametta’s belongings. She was charged with criminal lockout, a misdemeanor.
Judge John Blawie recently combined that case with the murder case for Wink’s upcoming trial.
A video found on Lametta’s cellphone is expected to play a big role in the prosecution's case against Wink. Lametta was apparently recording Wink on his phone during their final encounter and ended up capturing his own death. Court documents show the run-in happened after Wink allegedly let herself in to the house to clean out the fridge because she intended to put the home on the market.
"Lametta asked Wink how she thinks she has the right to come into his house without any notice," according to one search warrant. It went on to state, "Just as Wink turns around and appears to walk away from Lametta, two gunshots are heard, and Wink is heard saying, 'You Bastard' as she proceeds to walk toward Lametta through the kitchen while firing a handgun at Lametta."
The warrant also said after the shooting, Wink threw Lametta’s phone into the bushes outside the house, and police recovered it after they heard ringing from there.
Wink's attorney has contended from the start of the case that the video is more like an audio recording and doesn't tell the whole story.
"This is not the open and shut case that the state perceives it is," attorney Stephan Seeger told News 12 after one of Wink's court appearances.
At another hearing, Seeger said Wink was afraid of Lametta because he'd previously threatened her. Seeger also told the court he’d gotten ahold of his own audio recording of Lametta that bolsters Wink’s claim.
Seeger gave notice of three possible defenses at trial—a claim of self-defense, extreme emotional disturbance and mental disease or defect. He said it’s unclear if the judge will allow the jury to consider all of them.
During jury selection Tuesday, the defense asked all prospective jurors if it was ever OK to take someone else’s life. The response was overwhelmingly, “yes, in self-defense.”
Wink rejected a plea offer in June 2023 that called for her to serve 40 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to murder. If she’s convicted at trial, she faces up to 60 years.
Wink has been out of custody but on house arrest with GPS monitoring since September 2022 when she posted 10% of her $2.5 million bond.
Wink was the Republican deputy registrar for the City of Norwalk at the time of the shooting but was fired after being charged with murder.
MORE COVERAGE: Judge denies bond reduction for ex-Norwalk official charged with murder; cites ‘extremely graphic’ video
