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Thread: Christopher DiMeo Gets Life Sentence in 2005 CT Double Murders

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    Christopher DiMeo Gets Life Sentence in 2005 CT Double Murders

    A man who could face the death penalty after allegedly killing two Fairfield jewelers four years ago will not go to trial for at least another year.

    Judge Robert Devlin agreed Friday to continue jury selection in the case until next September, meaning Christopher DiMeo's trial would not start before January 2011.

    Devlin's decision came after DiMeo's lead counsel, Ronald Gold, asked to be excused from the case for health reasons.

    Senior Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Corradino said the defense was trying to "stonewall" the case. He said one witness already has died during the case's lengthy delays.

    DiMeo, 27, is charged with capital felony and two counts of murder after allegedly killing jewelers Tim and Kim Donnelly while robbing their store in February of 2005.

    http://www.courant.com/community/bridgeport/hc-copdigbrf1019.art0oct19,0,384299.story

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    Prosecutor to seek death penalty in jewel store killings

    Christopher DiMeo, 25, waived a probable cause hearing Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from the killing of Kim and Tim Donnelly.

    State's Attorney Jonathan Benedict confirmed he will seek the death penalty for DiMeo who is already serving a life term in New York for the murder of a Long Island jeweler.

    In Superior Court Thursday, DiMeo pleaded not guilty to capital felony, two counts of felony murder, two counts of murder, and one count each of first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a handgun.

    DiMeo also elected to be tried by a jury.

    Benedict later acknowledged he had told the Donnelly family and the defense lawyers he will seek the death penalty if DiMeo is convicted of the capital felony charge.

    Kim and Tim Donnelly were gunned down in their downtown jewelry store on Feb. 2, 2005.

    According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Kim Donnelly was shot six times and her husband was shot five times. Two days later, DiMeo and his girlfriend Nicole Pearce were arrested at an Atlantic City motel.

    Police said Pearce later admitted scouting out the Donnelly store for DiMeo the day before the murders.

    Pearce is in custody at the York Correctional Institute in East Lyme while awaiting trial in Bridgeport.

    Police said the gun DiMeo used to kill the Donnellys was the same one used to kill Glen Head, N.Y., jeweler Thomas Renison at his store on Dec. 21, 2004. The gun was later found in DiMeo's car, police said.

    Both pleaded guilty in connection with the robbery and murder in the Renison case. DiMeo was sentenced to a life term for that crime, while Pearce was sentenced to 20 years for robbery.

    The case was continued until July 18.

    http://www.norwalkcitizenonline.com/news/article/Prosecutor-to-seek-death-penalty-in-jewel-store-64554.php

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    Trial Date Set in Fairfield Jewelry Store Killings

    A Connecticut judge says a man charged in the killings of two people during a Fairfield jewelry store robbery in 2005 will go on trial next January in a potential death penalty case.

    Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin set a Jan. 18 trial date for 28-year-old Christopher DiMeo, a Glen Head, N.Y., native charged in the killings of husband-and-wife jewelers Tim and Kim Donnelly. Jury selection is set to begin Sept. 20.

    DiMeo is already serving a life prison sentence in New York for killing Long Island jewelry store owner Thomas Renison in 2004.

    DiMeo's former girlfriend, Nicole Pearce, has pleaded guilty to felony murder for her role in the Fairfield killings. She awaits sentencing. She's serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with Renison's murder.

    http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/7789267.php?contentType=4&contentId=6545939

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    Jury selection for DiMeo murder case

    Jury selection will be starting in the case of a man charged with killing a husband and wife at their Connecticut jewelry store in 2005.

    The prosecution and defense in the capital felony and murder case of 28-year-old Christopher DiMeo are scheduled to begin picking jurors Monday in Bridgeport Superior Court. His trial is slated to begin Jan. 18.

    DiMeo faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of the killings of Tim and Kim Donnelly during a robbery at their Fairfield jewelry store. He's already serving life in prison in New York for killing Long Island jewelry store owner Thomas Renison in 2004.

    DiMeo's former girlfriend, Nicole Pearce, pleaded guilty to felony murder for her role in the Fairfield killings. She awaits sentencing.

    http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/fairfield_cty/jury-selection-for-dimeo-murder-case

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    DiMeo trial delayed again by defense issues

    Jury selection for the death penalty trial of Christopher DiMeo, accused of killing Fairfield jewelers Tim and Kim Donnelly, was delayed at least four months Thursday after one of DiMeo's public defenders dropped out of the case for health reasons.

    In this latest in a series of delays won by the defense, Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin agreed to continue jury selection to Jan. 11, but even that date is uncertain.

    DiMeo, 27, is charged with capital felony and two counts of murder in the fatal shooting of the Donnellys during a robbery of their store Feb. 2, 2005. If convicted of the capital felony charge, he could get the death penalty.

    Jury selection in his case was scheduled to begin next week, and 800 prospective jurors had been ordered to report to the Main Street courthouse to be questioned.

    But Thursday afternoon, Special Public Defender Ron Gold told the judge he recently learned he has a serious heart condition and can no longer represent DiMeo. Public Defender Joseph Bruckmann will continue to help represent the defendant.

    Devlin agreed to excuse Gold, but that led to another turn of events.

    Assistant Public Defender Michael Courtney, who was to be Gold's successor, stood up and told the judge he had no intention of representing DiMeo unless he was given a year's continuance.

    "I'm the only game in town, I'm volunteering to take this case," Courtney, a state employee, told the judge.

    Devlin, who appeared taken aback by Courtney's statement, ordered him to sit down.

    "I'm not going to be extorted, not in this courtroom. That's not the way it is going to go," the judge retorted.

    Courtney's boss, Public Defender Patrick Culligan, then quickly stepped up and told the judge he was going to represent DiMeo.

    Culligan, however, then told the judge that beginning in January, he will be tied up representing one of the defendants in the highly publicized Cheshire home-invasion case in which three people were killed.

    Senior Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Corradino pointed out to the judge the irony of the situation: Courtney won't take the case unless he gets a year's continuance, and Culligan agreed to represent DiMeo, but won't be available for possibly a year.

    Meanwhile, the prosecutor lamented that during the lengthy delays in the case, one of his witnesses has died and another retired and moved out of state.

    Corradino contended that actions by the defense are part of a pattern to "stonewall" the case.

    "The progression of time works against the administration of justice," he added.

    http://www.greenwichcitizen.com/defa...ues-156018.php

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    Jury selection nears an end in DiMeo homicide trial

    In the shadow of the much publicized Cheshire death penalty case, lawyers have been toiling to choose a jury for a trial that could send another man to death row.

    On Tuesday, the 12th juror was selected to consider the case against Christopher DiMeo, accused of fatally shooting Fairfield jewelers Kim and Tim Donnelly.

    Jury selection began Sept. 20 and more than 400 people were interviewed before the final, 12th juror was selected Tuesday. Five alternates must still be picked for the trial that is scheduled to begin in Superior Court here on Jan. 18.

    "The DiMeo case was an equally terrible crime, but the Cheshire case has gotten all the media attention," said local lawyer John Walkley, who has represented a number of death penalty defendants.

    DiMeo is charged with capital felony, two counts of felony murder, two counts of murder, first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a handgun in the fatal shooting of the Donnellys on Feb. 2, 2005.

    The jury, which is made up of seven women and five men, will first decide whether DiMeo is guilty of the charges and then whether he should get the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty, but confessed to the crime to police and offered to take a life prison term.

    On Monday a New Haven jury voted to send Steven Hayes to death row for the 2007 murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela in their Cheshire home.

    The verdict was also seen as a victory for the state's death penalty law, which has been threatened with repeal by Gov.-elect Dan Malloy. But will the fact that Hayes has received the death penalty verdict affect the DiMeo case?

    "It will be interesting to see what the impact will be," said Walkley. "I'd like to think each case will stand on its own."

    The Donnellys were a very popular couple in the Fairfield and participated in numerous community events.

    On Feb. 2, police said DiMeo shot Kim Donnelly six times and her husband five times during a robbery attempt at their store. Tim Donnelly was pronounced dead at the scene, but his wife was lying in a fetal position on the store's floor, still breathing. She died at the hospital.

    Two days later, DiMeo and his girlfriend, Nicole Pearce, were arrested at a motel in Atlantic City, N.J.

    DiMeo later pleaded guilty for the earlier murder of a Long Island jeweler and was sentenced to a life term in prison.

    http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/...ide-805455.php

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    Police detectives: DiMeo showed no remorse for Donnelly murders

    Arrested by more than a dozen heavily-armed police officers from four jurisdictions at an Atlantic City motel, Christopher DiMeo told one of the cops, "I guess I'm f---d," according to testimony Monday.

    The testimony came during a hearing in Superior Court here. The lawyers for DiMeo, who is awaiting trial for the 2005 murders of Fairfield jewelers Kim and Tim Donnelly, are seeking to keep from the jury statements their client made to police following his arrest on Feb. 4, 2005.

    The hearing is like a mini-trial without a jury, in which witnesses in the case testify and Judge Robert Devlin will make a decision on whether to allow the statements at the trial.

    Nassau County Police Detective William Brosnan testified he interviewed DiMeo after his arrest.

    "He said to me `I guess I'm f---d,' that his life was over and I told him it was," Brosnan said. "He was upset about being caught, he didn't want to go back to jail he said he didn't do well there."

    Brosnan said DiMeo didn't want to talk about the Donnelly murders but did confess to the December 2004 murder of a Glenhead, N.Y., jeweler.

    "The only remorse he had was for himself and his circumstances," Brosnan said under questioning by DiMeo's lawyer, Public Defender Jeffrey Hutcoe. "He indicated no remorse for any of the lives he had taken."

    Another Nassau County Police detective, Milton Aponte, said that when he met DiMeo that day he "seemed stoic, uncaring about the conduct of his actions."

    DiMeo is charged with capital felony, two counts felony murder, two counts murder, first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a handgun in the fatal shooting of the Donnellys on Feb. 2, 2005 in their Fairfield jewelry store. If convicted of capital felony he could get the death penalty.

    According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Kim Donnelly was shot six times and her husband was shot five times.

    The affidavit states Tim Donnelly was pronounced dead at the scene, but his wife was lying in a fetal position on the store's floor, still breathing. She died at the hospital.

    Two days later DiMeo and his girlfriend, Nicole Pearce, were arrested at a motel in Atlantic City, N.J. They later pleaded guilty in connection with the robbery and murder of the Glenhead, Long Island jeweler. DiMeo was sentenced to a life term, while Pearce was sentenced to 20 years for robbery.

    Police said Pearce later admitted scouting out the Donnelly store for DiMeo the day before the murders.

    The defense lawyers have subpoenaed Pearce to testify during hearing but Senior Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Corradino has indicated he will oppose her testifying.

    http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/P...for-878605.php

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    Related

    November 15, 2008

    Suspect in jewelry store killings pleads guilty

    A 26-year-old New York woman has pleaded guilty to helping plan the murders of a Connecticut couple in their Fairfield jewelry store nearly four years ago.
    Nicole Pearce pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of felony murder in the February 2005 shooting deaths of Timothy and Kimberly Donnelly.

    Pearce's boyfriend, Christopher DiMeo, faces murder, robbery and handgun charges in the case and could receive the death penalty if convicted. His trial is not expected to start until 2009.

    Prosecutors say Pearce, who lived in Queens with DiMeo, admitted scouting out the Donnelly store for him one day before the couple were killed.

    She already is serving a 20-year term for helping DiMeo rob and murder a jeweler in Glenhead, N.Y. DiMeo is serving a life term in that case.

    His mother, Maryann Taylor, is serving 15 years for driving the getaway car in that holdup.

    http://www.newstimes.com/default/art...lty-220531.php

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    DiMeo's girlfriend testifies at hearing on Donnelly murders

    It was their first meeting since they were arrested at an Atlantic City motel in February 2005.

    But it was no happy reunion for accused Fairfield jeweler killer, Christopher DiMeo, and his girlfriend, Nicole Pearce, in Superior Court Tuesday afternoon.

    Sitting on the witness stand, she immediately grabbed bunches of tissues with her manacled hands as DiMeo was brought into the courtroom. She then put her head down on the table and cried. He showed no emotion from across the courtroom.

    DiMeo has pleaded not guilty to capital felony, two counts felony murder, two counts murder, first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a handgun in the fatal shooting of Tim and Kim Donnelly on Feb. 2, 2005 in their Fairfield jewelry store. If convicted of capital felony he could get the death penalty. His trial is set to begin Jan. 18 before a 12-member jury.

    DiMeo's lawyers, public defenders Michael Courtney and Jeffrey Hutcoe, had Pearce subpoenaed to testify Tuesday in their efforts to convince Judge Robert Devlin to throw out DiMeo's alleged confession to the crime.

    Pearce is in custody after earlier pleading guilty to helping him plan the Donnelly robbery. She has agreed to testify against DiMeo in exchange for a plea deal.

    The pretty, blond-haired Pearce broke down several times while being questioned by Hutcoe.

    She had met DiMeo is California in September 2004 and ended up driving cross country with him. Two days after the Donnelly murders they were holed up in the Ascot Motel in Atlantic City.

    Early that morning she said DiMeo had injected a large amount of heroin and gone to sleep. Pearce was arrested after she slipped out of the room and was heading for the motel's lobby. Police quickly took her across the street and held her there as they tried to negotiate DiMeo's surrender.

    "They asked me if he had a gun and I said, no, no," she recalled, crying. "I said if he had a gun he would probably blow himself away."

    At one point Hutcoe questioned her about her recollections of that day, nearly six years ago. "It's been almost six years and I don't forget a single thing about it," she tearfully responded, glancing over at DiMeo.

    Senior Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Corradino objected when Hutcoe attempted to broaden his examination of Pearce beyond the events of the day of their arrest and his objection was upheld by the judge.

    http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/...-on-880973.php

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    Trial in jewelry store murders to begin in Conn.

    The trial starts this week for a 29-year-old New York man accused of killing a husband and wife at their Connecticut jewelry store in 2005.

    The capital felony and murder trial of former Queens resident Christopher DiMeo is set to begin Tuesday in Bridgeport Superior Court. DiMeo has pleaded not guilty to the fatal shootings of Tim and Kim Donnelly during a robbery at their Fairfield store.

    DiMeo faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted. He's already serving a life prison sentence in New York for killing Long Island jewelry store owner Thomas Renison in 2004.

    DiMeo's former girlfriend, Nicole Pearce, has pleaded guilty to felony murder for her role in the Fairfield killings. She awaits sentencing.

    Authorities say Kim Donnelly was shot six times and her husband was shot five times.

    http://www.necn.com/01/17/11/Trial-i...6e47014b2429ea

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