The attorney for Ellen Wink, a former Norwalk city official now charged with murder, is hoping to get his client released on bond.  Attorney Stephan Seeger filed a bond reduction motion with what he said was new evidence to support Wink’s self-defense claim.

Wink is accused of shooting Kurt Lametta, a tenant renting her property at 16 Nelson Ave., on Jan. 20.  She has been in custody since then, unable to post bond after it was raised from $1 million to $2.5 million.

“I argue that the increase of $1.5 million on top of an existing $1 million bond was excessive. This is essentially a denial of bond,” Seeger told News 12 Thursday, regarding his new motion.

The increase came at a hearing in February where the state said it had evidence to refute the killing was self-defense, a video from the victim's own cellphone of his death.  Lametta was recording when Wink confronted him on the day in question.

“She turns to him, fires a gun and starts shooting. The victim in the video attempts to run away from her, and it’s very clear she follows.  The video completely belies any self-defense claims,” Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning previously told Judge Gary White in court.

Seeger said then, and continues to maintain, that the video is upside down, more like an audio clip, and only captures part of the interaction.  In his motion, he said his investigation uncovered new audio tape evidence which supports Wink’s claim she feared Lametta.

“The victim in this case had a habit of going around and taping people.  Other people in the rooming home started to tape him in their own defense, and when they did that, a story about who the victim really was unfolds. This a is victim who has outright threatened to ‘fix’ Ms. Wink,” Seeger explained.

The new clips show a pattern of aggression, hate speech, and threats, according to the motion.

“This is the kind of factual evidence that's relevant to what is going on in Ms. Wink's mind at the time of the shooting. I think this undermines the state's claim that there is no viable self-defense here because that is exactly what this is - a self-defense case,” Seeger told News 12. “There is a lot more to this story than what has been painted.”

The motion also cited mitigating factors as a reason for bond reduction. Seeger said Wink has no prior history of violence so she’s not a threat to the community, and he argued she’s not a flight risk due to her strong ties to the Norwalk area.

He said if bond is lowered back to $1 million, as he is requesting, Wink could liquidate some properties and post bond.  A hearing on this motion is set for July 13.   

Lametta’s cellphone video is currently sealed, but search warrants filed in the case describe what the footage shows.  One said Wink let herself into the house, which Lametta was not happy about.  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.”

Wink and Lametta had on-going issues after Lametta allegedly stopped paying rent in September 2020.  One search warrant mentions that police were called four times over the previous five months because of disputes between them.  In September 2021, Wink was arrested after she allegedly locked Lametta out of the house and brought his belongings to the dump.  That case is still pending and has been sealed.

Wink was the Republican deputy registrar for the city of Norwalk, but was fired after being charged with murder.  She has not entered a plea yet.