Murder Antidepressants 09/02/2006 Connecticut Man Strangles Fiance with Dog Leash
Summary:
Paragraph 1 reads: "A case of Lyme disease, or perhaps an overdose of anti-depressants, led a Southbury man to strangle his fiancee with a dog leash, his lawyer argued in Waterbury Superior Court."
http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=2648
Lawyer: Southbury strangling sparked by Lyme disease or drugs
Thursday, February 9, 2006
BY PAUL SINGLEY
Copyright © 2006 Republican-American
WATERBURY -- A case of Lyme disease, or perhaps an overdose of anti-depressants, led a Southbury man to strangle his fiancee with a dog leash, his lawyer argued in Waterbury Superior Court.
Wednesday marked the opening day of the murder trial of Gregg Madigosky, accused of strangling Lynn M. Bossert, 41, at the couple's home on Lantern Park Lane North in 2003. Madigosky pleaded not guilty, his lawyer saying he did not intend to kill Bossert but instead suffered from mental disease or extreme emotional disturbance.
Attorney Ralph Crozier said Madigosky's actions on Sept. 12, 2003 may have been influenced by Lyme disease or anti-depressants, although he did not give reasons in court Wednesday why either of those could cause Madigosky, 39, to strangle Bossert in front of their 6-month-old daughter.
Madigosky, who at the time of his arrest was an engineer at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
Wednesday, four state troopers and one police officer who were at the scene testified. Crozier asked each trooper what they observed and whether Madigosky seemed to understand them when he was being questioned and read his Miranda rights. All of them said Madigosky seemed fully aware of everything happening around him.
Lt. Dale Hourigan, who was the commander at the state police barracks at Troop A in Southbury, said Madigosky seemed to fully comprehend everything Hourigan told him. Hourigan, who was at the scene when Madigosky was arrested at his parents' house in Southbury, said Madigosky was able to follow specific and detailed instructions, such as how to properly interlock his fingers and drop to his knees slowly as police prepared to handcuff him.
Trooper David DelVecchia, who said he talked to Madigosky for about 15 minutes after his arrest, said he remembers seeing blood stains on Madigosky's shirt and pants, and that Madigosky seemed to comprehend everything he said.
"I was looking at a man who had just taken someone's life," DelVecchia said.
"He seemed nervous, but he seemed to understand the magnitude of everything that was happening."
Madigosky, who in 2004 rejected a plea deal that would have put him behind bars for 37 years, wore a dark blue pinstripe suit, a white shirt and a dark blue tie with tiny white whales on it.
He wore thick glasses and kept his face blank, never turning his head toward the jury of 10 men and five women. He also did not look at friends and family members of Bossert who attended the trial.
The trial resumes today. Judge Thomas O'Keffe is presiding over the trial, and senior assistant state's attorney Terence Mariani is prosecuting the case.
Madigosky is being held on an $850,000 bond at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown.
Ashley Lynn, the daughter of Madigosky and Bossert, is in the custody of a foster mother.