Ellen Wink, the former Norwalk city official accused of killing her tenant over an eviction dispute, is set to be released from custody and placed on house arrest following a virtual hearing Wednesday.

Wink has been at York Correctional Institution for more than seven months, unable to post her $2.5 million bond.

Wink’s attorney, Stephan Seeger, previously argued to reduce that amount but was denied. This time Seeger asked Judge Gary White to sign off on Wink posting a ten percent cash bond, a total of $250,000.

“Miss Wink had to sell property to generate those funds, place those funds in trust, and those funds are ready for the court clerk at any time the order is granted,” Seeger said during the hearing.

The state objected to the request calling Wink a threat to the public.

She's charged with the murder of Kurt Lametta on Jan. 20 inside the property she owns at 16 Nelson Ave., which Lametta rented. Court documents show Wink told Norwalk police she shot Lametta several times after he came at her. But Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning has said “graphic” video evidence contradicts this was self-defense. Lametta used his cell phone to secretly record what became a deadly encounter with his landlord.  

“If your honor is going to allow her to post the 10% bond, I would ask for significant non-financial conditions of release including house arrest, GPS, IPS, everything you can think of to protect the community from Miss Wink, whom the state considers a very dangerous individual,” Manning said.

The judge granted the defense's motion but with all the state’s conditions, including GPS monitoring. Seeger said at the hearing that Wink will be living in the house where the deadly shooting occurred. Per her release conditions, she will only be allowed to leave for court hearings, meetings with her attorney, medical appointments and religious services.

“If there are any slip-ups with complying with the conditions of release, I’m not going to tolerate it, and I'll likely just raise her bond, put her back in,” warned White. “I'm going to have a short leash so to speak.”

Wink is set to be transferred to the Stamford courthouse Friday, where she’ll post bond and be fitted with an ankle bracelet.  

Wink and Lametta had a contentious relationship after Lametta allegedly stopped paying rent in September 2020. One search warrant in the case mentioned 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 threw out all his belongings at the dump. That case is still pending and has been sealed.

Wink was the Republican deputy registrar for Norwalk at the time of her arrest. She was fired after being charged with murder.