ROCKVILLE, CONNECTICUT: For killing his wife in 2015, a Connecticut man received a sentence that would probably land him behind bars for the rest of his life. 45-year-old Richard Dabate was given a sentence of 65 years in prison without the chance of release. The judgment was a combined penalty of five years for tampering with evidence and sixty years for murder. In the so-called ‘Fitbit Murder Case', where information from an electronic body-monitoring device cast doubt on the defendant's version of events after the death of Connie Dabate, 39, who was killed in the early hours of the day before Christmas Eve in December 2015, the condemned man was found guilty by a jury in Rockville County in May of this year.
During the trial, the prosecution presented Fitbit data that proved the deceased woman was still alive and active despite her husband's claim to the contrary. The state claimed that the defendant intended to kill his wife and attribute it to a home invasion. Regarding the reason behind the crime, law enforcement argued that Richard Dabate was facing the possibility of his life disintegrating in front of his eyes because his marriage was in trouble and his longtime friend, who was also at the time his most recent mistress, was about to give birth to their child. State’s Attorney Matthew C Gedansky told jurors, “Time is moving on. The pressure is mounting, the baby is coming, and the defendant’s worst fears are going to be realized.”
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In April 2017, the defendant was accused of murder, tampering with evidence, and giving police a false statement. After posting a $1 million bail, he was freed for several years. He and Sara Ganzer have been co-parenting the child in question since 2019. Ganzer said in her own testimony that she had no intentions of blowing up the Dabate family. The second woman additionally stated in court that she and the defendant never discussed harming Connie Dabate and that he has never acknowledged killing his wife.
According to CT Insider, Richard Dabate has insisted on his innocence time and time again. According to the defendant, when he returned home after midnight to get his laptop, he discovered a masked man upstairs who had just robbed him, chased the victim into the basement where he shot her, zip-tied the husband to a chair, and then stabbed him. The defense also cited unidentified DNA found in the house and on the murder weapon.
On the relevant day, according to Richard Dabate, the attacks started around nine in the morning. According to the prosecutors, Connie Dabate's Fitbit showed movement for an additional hour. The defense argued that Fitbit data is not totally accurate during the trial. But the jury took the state's side. Meanwhile, Victim's family members welcomed the penalty. According to statements made by Cindy Margotta, Connie Dabate's mother, “I just feel like this surge from up above, the strength coming to me right now for all of us. She’s here.” Keith Margotta, Connie’s Dabate’s brother added, “It enables us to get a little bit of closure, even though it won’t bring Connie back. As a family, we can move forward.”
After the sentencing, the defendant's lawyer stated at a brief press conference that his client was not yet finished battling. Defense attorney Trent LaLima said, “I know today was a very difficult day for everybody in that courtroom, no matter what side you’re on or what your role was, it was a very emotional day. As Rick Dabate said in court today, he is completely steadfast in his innocence and dedicated to proving his innocence. Today was the close of just the first chapter of litigation in this case. We are going to continue to fight with the appeal. We look forward to continuing to fight for Rick Dabate. And we are confident, that in the end, Rick Dabate will prevail.”
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