How One Fitbit Was Key To Richard Dabate's Murder Conviction
By Kristin Myers on May 14, 2022 at 1:30 PM EDT
Connecticut man Richard Dabate has officially been found guilty of murder.
As reported by PEOPLE, Dabate will now face 60 years behind bars for the killing of his wife, Connie Dabate. Prosecutors theorized that Richard killed his wife so that he could avoid the fallout of a possible divorce after he fathered a child with another woman.
Richard Dabate Found Guilty Of Murdering His Wife After Affair
As per the Associated Press, jurors in Rockville Superior Court convicted Richard of all three charges he was facing: murder, tampering with evidence, and making false statements to authorities.
Connie’s brother, Keith Margotta, called the conviction “bittersweet,” saying, “It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders.” He made his remarks on the courthouse steps after the verdict was read, which was reported by the Journal Inquirer.
Keith added, “Everything kind of hits home. Everything that we went through, and tried to put behind us six years ago, is right in front of us right now.” He said he was “in shock” when he heard the verdict, adding, “I felt like I was going to hit the floor.”
Richard Dabate Constructed An Elaborate Story That Involved A Blowtorch And A Boxcutter
In an arrest warrant that was first obtained by PEOPLE, Richard had told officials that a 6-foot-2-inch intruder broke into the couple’s home in Ellington on December 23, 2015, only two days before Christmas. Richard alleged that the intruder had tied him up and tortured him, then shot and killed his wife.
However, officers who arrived on the scene noted that Richard only had “minor injuries.” A year into the case, investigators made a major break in the case when they obtained data from the Fitbit Connie was wearing. The data showed that Connie had been moving around for almost an hour after her husband said that she had been killed, as per the court documents.
The documents show that Richard painted an elaborate picture of events for police officers. Richard had told investigators that he had taken his two sons to a bus stop, returned home to grab a “work shirt,” and left for work around 8:30 AM. Data from her Fitbit showed that Connie left for a fitness class at the YMCA at around 8:46 AM that same morning.
The arrest warrant continues to explain that Richard said he returned home around 9 AM because he forgot his laptop. While there, he says he was confronted by a masked intruder who was wearing camouflage and gloves. Richard told police that the intruder “manhandled” him and tortured him with a blowtorch while he was tied to a chair. He claims that the intruder also stabbed him with a boxcutter.
He told investigators that Connie got home when he started to fight with the intruder, who followed Connie into the basement where she went to hide. Richard said that he tripped down the stairs and heard a gunshot. Richard told police that the intruder fled, he crawled back up the stairs himself, pressed a panic button on his alarm, and called 911 at 10:11 AM.
Connie’s Fitbit Paints A Different Version Of Events
However, once investigators were able to gather information from Connie’s Fitbit and other home devices, Richard’s story fell apart.
The arrest warrant documents show that Richard had logged into his home computer at 9:01 AM and emailed his work supervisor at 9:04 AM, saying that his alarm went off and he had to return home to check on it.
Connie’s Fitbit device registered movement inside the home at 9:23 AM. Police also discovered that she had been active on Facebook between 9:40 AM and 9:46 AM, posting videos to her account with her iPhone while she was in the house.
Investigators learned that her Fitbit had tracked 1,217 feet between 9:18 AM and 10:15 AM. However, the total distance from Connie’s car to the basement, where her body was discovered, was reportedly no more than 125 feet.
According to the Associated Press, a spokesperson for Connie’s family, Wayne Rioux, said, “The trial was not about Fitbit. The trial was about the cold-blooded, planned murder of Connie Margotta Dabate. … There will be no closure for the Margotta family, but there is finally justice for Connie.”
The trial had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Richard had been free prior to the five-week trial after posting bond. He was jailed earlier this week on a new $5 million dollar bond. Dabate will be sentenced on September 16.
