A former Norwalk city official, who’s charged with murder for the deadly shooting of her tenant, will go to trial in the case. During a hearing at Stamford Superior Court Tuesday, Ellen Wink rejected the prosecution’s offer of 40 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to the murder of Kurt Lametta.

Judge Gary White asked Wink a series of questions about her decision before he pulled the offer and put the case on the jury list. White explained that if Wink is convicted, she faces up to 60 years in prison.

“The offer was rejected because this case has been a self-defense case from the very outset,” Attorney Stephan Seeger, who represents Wink, told News 12 after court. “In terms of offers for a murder case, 40 years is not an unreasonable offer. It's just not one of those cases where an offer is relevant because of the nature of the defense.”

Wink was arrested on Jan. 20, 2022, in the death of Lametta that day inside the home he was renting on Nelson Avenue. The two had a history of problems after Lametta allegedly stopped paying rent in September 2020, and Wink wanted him out of the house on Nelson Avenue. After the shooting, Wink called 911 and said she fired at Lametta five times because he “came at her,” according to a police report.

But the deadly encounter was apparently captured on video. Police said Lametta was recording their dispute on his phone and ended up capturing his own death. Search warrants about the footage said the confrontation began after Wink let herself into the home to clean out the fridge because she was putting the house up for sale.

"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 Wink threw Lametta’s phone into the bushes outside the house after the shooting, and police recovered it after they heard ringing from there.

The prosecution has been adamant the graphic footage contradicts this was self-defense.

But Seeger countered that there’s more to the story. “It's not the case it has been painted out to be just because of the video. We have our own evidence,” he explained.

At a prior hearing, Seeger told the court he'd gotten ahold of his own audio recording of Lametta that bolsters Wink’s claims that she feared Lametta. He said it included Lametta making threats against Wink and using homophobic and antisemitic language.

Wink has been out of custody but on house arrest with GPS monitoring since September when she posted 10% of her $2.5 million dollars bond. She was initially living at the home where the shooting occurred. Seeger confirmed Wink sold that property in the spring and is now staying with family.

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.