Connie Dabate

Summary

True Crime All The Time – Episode 480: Connie Dabate (March 16, 2026)
Hosts: Mike Ferguson & Mike "Gibby" Gibson

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Main Theme

This episode dives deep into the murder of 39-year-old Connie Dabate, who was killed just two days before Christmas in 2015. The tragic case—known for the pivotal role her Fitbit played in unraveling her husband Richard’s elaborate home invasion story—is examined with detailed analysis of the investigation, trial, and aftermath. The hosts, known for their conversational banter, also discuss the broader issue of domestic violence and how technology is increasingly used to catch perpetrators.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Background: The Dabate Family

• Connie & Richard’s Relationship: Met in 1997, married in 2003, and had two sons. Connie was known as responsible and outgoing, while Richard was described as more childlike.
  • “Connie was the responsible one, and Richard was the overgrown kid.” — Mike Ferguson (06:04)
• Outward Appearances: Their life seemed idyllic from the outside, but as the case unfolds, internal cracks become evident.

The Crime & Richard’s Initial Story

• Incident Recap (09:04): Richard claimed to police that he encountered a masked intruder who shot Connie and assaulted him with a box cutter and blowtorch, before zip-tying him to a chair. He called 911 after the intruder supposedly fled.
• Hosts immediately question the logic of Richard’s account:
  • “If [the intruder] shot Connie, why wouldn’t he just go ahead and shoot [Richard] too?” — Mike Gibson (12:48)
  • “At that point, you’re already a murderer…why leave someone to tell the story?” — Mike Gibson (59:31)

Early Investigation & Suspicion of Richard

• Crime Scene Contradictions:
  • No sign of forced entry
  • No intruder scent found by police dogs (multiple attempts)
  • Connie had been shot twice; the gun was their own, recently bought by Richard
• It was quickly clear to police that Richard’s timeline and details were inconsistent (15:19, 16:16).
• Richard’s Behavior: Left Connie’s graveside early; relatives noted he seemed too happy after the murder.
  • “If this is the love of your life…you’re going to have to drag [most people] away [from a gravesite].” — Mike Ferguson (17:10)

The Digital Evidence: Fitbit, Cell Phones, and Timelines

• Fitbit Data: Investigators used Connie’s Fitbit, phone, and home alarm records to reconstruct the timeline (21:33). Crucially, the data showed:
  • Connie was moving around the house after Richard claimed she was dead
  • She was active on Facebook long after he said the murder occurred
  • She had physically traveled much farther inside the house than Richard claimed possible in his story
• “Connie’s Fitbit proved that Richard was lying.” — Mike Ferguson (20:50)

Motive: Money and Affair

• Financial Moves:
  • Five days after the murder, Richard filed for Connie’s $475,000 life insurance policy
  • Shortly after, withdrew $93,000 from her investment account
  • “Just seems a little too soon for me.” — Mike Gibson (27:02)
• Troubled Marriage & Infidelity:
  • Entry in Connie’s phone: “Why I want a divorce”—listed Richard’s irresponsibility, finances, and parenting, not knowing about the affair
  • Richard had a long-term girlfriend, Sarah Ganzer, who was pregnant with his child at the time of the murder
  • “At what point does someone start to think, I’d be better off if I just killed my partner, my spouse?” — Mike Ferguson (32:10)
  • “My little love nugget.” — Quoted text from Richard to his girlfriend (29:58)

Arrest, Trial, and Key Testimony

• Arrest & Indictment: Richard was arrested based largely on digital evidence contradicting his statements (20:50).
• Trial Highlights:
  • Prosecution demonstrated the power of digital footprints
  • Defense tried to cast doubt on the data’s reliability, DNA found at the scene, and possible investigative tunnel vision
  • Expert testimony confirmed the Fitbit’s accuracy (“98% accurate,” per Dr. Keith Diaz, 41:03)
  • The defense raised the point that unidentified DNA on the gun and at the scene could indicate a real intruder—but the hosts and prosecution dismissed this as unlikely
  • Housekeeper’s sighting of a “dark green figure” was undermined (“could have been a deer or a reflection,” 50:56)

Conviction and Sentencing

• Verdict & Sentencing: Found guilty of murder and related charges; sentenced to 65 years in prison (51:41).
• Appeals: Richard appealed, claiming prosecutorial misconduct, but the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the conviction, noting that even if there were missteps, the evidence was overwhelming (54:31).
  • “The state’s case was strong, and the missteps didn’t overshadow the testimony of 130 witnesses and 600 exhibits.” — Mike Ferguson (56:53)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Digital Evidence:
  • “I just don’t know that people understand the breadth and scope of our digital footprint.” — Mike Ferguson (22:06)
• On Domestic Violence:
  • “In the end, this was another case of domestic violence… these homicides are still happening.” — State’s Attorney Matthew Gdanski, as quoted by Mike Ferguson (52:20)
  • “This is a real epidemic.” — Mike Ferguson (53:25)
• Banter & Comic Relief:
  • On fake “Intruder Scent”:
    • “This is why I keep a bottle of Intruder Scent in my garage.” — Mike Gibson (20:17)
  • On pet names:
    • “Love nugget just doesn’t seem to fit into that [romantic talk].” — Mike Ferguson (30:04)

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic/Discussion | |----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:21 | Introduction of the Connie Dabate case | | 09:04 | Richard’s version of the crime; detailed dissection of his claims | | 16:16 | Timeline inconsistencies; digital evidence emerges | | 21:33 | How Fitbit and Facebook upended Richard’s story | | 27:30 | Connie’s list: “Why I want a divorce” | | 29:58 | Richard’s affair and motive details | | 35:02 – 41:03 | Trial, prosecution’s case, expert testimony on Fitbit reliability | | 47:11 | Richard’s own testimony—contradictions on the stand | | 51:41 | Verdict and sentencing | | 52:20 – 54:31 | Broader reflections on domestic violence and the societal impact | | 54:31 | Appeal and Supreme Court decision | | 56:53 | Wrap-up: Evidence strength and final thoughts | | 57:56 – 59:29 | Hosts reflect on perpetrator psychology, case takeaways |

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Tone & Style

• Conversational and Analytical: Mike and Gibby offer a blend of serious true crime analysis and moments of comic relief (especially when poking holes in Richard’s story or discussing “intruder scent”).
• Empathy and Outrage: The hosts repeatedly sympathize with Connie, her family, and reflect on the senselessness of such crimes, especially when perpetrated by trusted spouses.

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Conclusion

This episode is a comprehensive review of the murder of Connie Dabate—how her active digital life contradicted her husband’s invented narrative and set a precedent for tech-assisted prosecutions. The hosts spotlight the ongoing epidemic of domestic violence and the mixed emotions that come with seeing justice delayed yet ultimately delivered. The case serves as a cautionary tale about the digital footprints we leave and emphasizes the importance of vigilance in both relationships and investigations.

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Memorable Closing
“This is a case of Richard thinking he was smarter than he really was…he thought he had this all worked out. But the evidence—digital and otherwise—proved otherwise.” — Mike Ferguson (58:03)

Transcript

[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

Foreign.

[Mike Ferguson]

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 480 of the True Crime all the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me, as always, is my partner in true crime, Mike Gibson. Gibby, how are you?

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, I'm doing good. How about you?

[Mike Ferguson]

I'm having a great week, man. You and I had some good pizza.

[Mike Gibson]

We did.

[Mike Ferguson]

Filled our bellies and now we're ready to record.

[Mike Gibson]

We are set to do all that.

[Mike Ferguson]

Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had dia.

[Mike Gibson]

What's going on? Dia.

[Mike Ferguson]

Robin Jennings.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, thank you, Jennings.

[Mike Ferguson]

Jake Wilson.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, it's Jake. You know Jake.

[Mike Ferguson]

Jakey Jake.

[Mike Gibson]

That's right.

[Mike Ferguson]

Ashley Garf.

[Mike Gibson]

What's going on? Ashley?

[Mike Ferguson]

Emily Borter.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, well, thanks. You said that really strong.

[Mike Ferguson]

Like I had to. I had to stress the tea because you said border on Patreon.

[Mike Gibson]

Did I? You're going to hold me to that?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay.

[Mike Ferguson]

And anybody who listens will know it. Neil. Ryan.

[Mike Gibson]

What's going on?

[Mike Ferguson]

Neil? Yali K ak Ronell.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, thank you, Ron.

[Mike Ferguson]

Nail Lori.

[Mike Gibson]

Lori.

[Mike Ferguson]

And last but not least, Jackie Portwood.

[Mike Gibson]

Gotta like some Portwood.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay.

[Mike Gibson]

Port wine, no Portwood.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. I don't know what that is, but. And then if we go back into the vault this week we selected Mike with four exclamation points. I was like, mike, it's really stressing the name.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, thanks, Mike.

[Mike Ferguson]

So on True Crime all the Time unsolved. We have a new episode out that's on Jermaine Charlo, a young woman from Montana who vanished in 2018 after a night out with her ex boyfriend. And this is a case where, you know, her last movements are captured on surveillance footage. But so far that hasn't led to them solving the case. We also want to talk about our Thursday TCAT episode. Yeah, that's coming out. It's on Deborah and Jesse. Debra filed a restraining order against her abusive ex husband. She told authorities she feared for her and her children's safety. And then just days before a hearing was set to take place, she disappeared and authorities found her close friend Crystal dead in her home. So that's an interesting episode. You can list it on, you can listen to it on your favorite podcast player. You can also watch the video on YouTube, you know, like subscribe, do all that good stuff.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, it helps out.

[Mike Ferguson]

All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of True Crime all the Time?

[Mike Gibson]

I am.

[Mike Ferguson]

We're talking about Connie Debate. 39 year old Connie Debate was a mother of two who was killed just two days before Christmas. Her husband Richard claimed she was killed by an armed intruder who broke into their house that morning. But Connie's Fitbit data would prove his story was a lie. And there are a number of cases that center around either Apple or more specifically Fitbit data. There are quite a few cases.

[Mike Gibson]

That's why I don't wear a Fitbit. I wear a Garmin.

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't know how that would be different. You're still going to be tracking movements and times and it's different. It's still going to trip you up.

[Mike Gibson]

I think it's different.

[Mike Ferguson]

You should throw that away. Get you an old school timepiece. Richard and Connie met in 1997 through a mutual friend. They started off as friends, but their relationship progressed quickly. They got married in July 2003 and had two sons. You know what Harry said? You know what Harry told Sally?

[Mike Gibson]

I wasn't sure at first if you're talking about Harry or Harry Potter.

[Mike Ferguson]

No, men and women can't really be friends.

[Mike Gibson]

They can't.

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't believe that. But that's what he told Sally.

[Mike Gibson]

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus or vice versa or something like that too.

[Mike Ferguson]

And Gibby's from Uranus.

[Mike Gibson]

Why?

[Mike Ferguson]

Connie's friend Ali Clark told people that Richie and Connie were different people. But they really seem to really like and respect each other. And that's great, right? That's, that's A formula for a good relationship.

[Mike Gibson]

It is.

[Mike Ferguson]

Connie was the responsible one, and Richard was the overgrown kid.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, that's like you and your wife.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's exactly like me and my wife. My wife worries about everything. She wants to make sure everything's taken care of. I'm. I'm a little more laissez faire in my attitude towards things.

[Mike Gibson]

Definitely laissez. Not fair saying you're laissez.

[Mike Ferguson]

There were conflicts sometimes, but they seemed like minor disputes that are normal in a marriage. And, you know, let's be honest, Gibbs. What marriage doesn't have, quote, unquote, minor disputes?

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, it's not a marriage unless you have some minor disputes.

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't know how you could live with someone day in and day out and not get into it every now and then. Now, I'm not talking about physical violence.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

But, you know, differences of opinions, some of them sometimes escalate, get heated. That's going to happen over the years.

[Mike Gibson]

It's just part of being in a relationship.

[Mike Ferguson]

Connie and Richard lived in Ellington, Connecticut, with their two boys, who were six and nine years old when she died. Richard was an IT technician. Connie was a pharmaceutical sales rep. She was always one of the first people to volunteer for her children's school. And so, you know, it seems to me as though they both had, you know, really good jobs. Pharmaceutical sales reps can make a boatload of money.

[Mike Gibson]

All the ones I've ever known made a boatload of money. Plus, it was a lot of fun to take their keys when they didn't know you took them and go out to their trunk and get into their inventory.

[Mike Ferguson]

I know you show up, like, every week with samples of things, stuff that I don't even think you're supposed to be taking. I don't even think you know what it is.

[Mike Gibson]

You gotta try things.

[Mike Ferguson]

Connie's friend Kim Phillips recalled about Connie, you would automatically just be attracted to her personality. You would want to spend more time with her.

[Mike Gibson]

There's people like that.

[Mike Ferguson]

There absolutely is. You and I have known them, let's say, through our work or whatever it is. There's some people that you just gravitate towards. You look forward to talking to, to being around. And there are others that you do not.

[Mike Gibson]

You turn the other way.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes.

[Mike Gibson]

Quickly.

[Mike Ferguson]

People in their neighborhood were envious of their marriage and seemingly idyllic life. And I know we've talked about that before. Right. There are marriages that look perfect from the outside. They aren't always what they appear. But again, if you're a neighbor, if You're a friend. You may not always see the worst things that are going on. You see people who are putting their best foot forward.

[Mike Gibson]

You just get to see the COVID of the book.

[Mike Ferguson]

On the morning of December 23, 2015, Connie was killed while her boys were at school. Richard claimed that he came home around 9am because he forgot his laptop. He received a text alert that their house alarm had been activated. He then saw what he described as a large, masked intruder with a deep Vin Diesel like voice. He was armed with a knife and demanded Richard's wallet and pen.

[Mike Gibson]

A deep Vin Diesel voice.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay, a little fast. And the furious action.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

At that time, Connie returned from her workout at the ymca. Entering through the garage, Richard said that he shouted for his wife to run. According to Richard, Connie rushed to the basement, presumably to get a gun they kept in a lockbox. The intruder chased Connie and shot her. Richard tripped down the stairs attempting to go after them. He claimed he heard a gunshot and couldn't hear Connie for about five minutes. The intruder then attacked Richard. He zip tied him to a folding chair, stabbed him with a box cutter, and burned him with a blowtorch that was kept in the basement. Richard said that when the intruder pointed the gun at him, he wrestled with him before burning his face with the blowtorch. And then the intruder fled the house. Richard was able to crawl upstairs, press the panic button on the alarm system, and, and call 911 at 10:11am so there's a lot here to unpack. Sure is, first of all, very scary, right, to return home and find a masked intruder with a knife inside your house.

[Mike Gibson]

Absolutely.

[Mike Ferguson]

And then the story goes on as Richard is telling it, that, you know, Connie comes home, he's yelling at her to run. Right. He wants to protect her. And so he's telling her, run, get out of here. But she doesn't do that. She heads down to the basement because, as he said, that's where they kept, you know, their gun. And then as he's trying to get down there, he trips, he falls. And then he ultimately has this encounter with the intruder. Gets stabbed with a box knife.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Burned with a blowtorch and zip tied to a chair.

[Mike Gibson]

Crappy way to start your morning.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. If it happened like that, it, it sure would be. But I think some of the, the parts of that story are, are really going to be scrutinized. Now. First of all, if this intruder has a knife, why are you not stabbed with a knife? Why are you stabbed with a box cutter right now? Box cutters wouldn't be fun to be stabbed with.

[Mike Gibson]

No. Or worst case, they would slice you with it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, the blade on a box knife normally doesn't protrude that far. Right. It would hurt, sure. Cause an injury, but it wouldn't be as damaging as a big K bar. Right.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that is true.

[Mike Ferguson]

Obviously, we know that a blowtorch wouldn't feel good.

[Mike Gibson]

No.

[Mike Ferguson]

But wouldn't kill you. The other thought I had is that would it be possible for someone to zip tie themselves to a chair? And I think the answer to that is yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, absolutely. I zip tie myself to things all the time just to see what it would be like.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, you call me, I show up, you were zip tied, you say you've done it yourself, but I don't buy those stories all the time.

[Mike Gibson]

There's a few times, maybe I didn't. But I was thinking, you know, if he went ahead and he shot Connie, this intruder, why wouldn't he just go ahead and shoot him too?

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, shoot, Richard, that's a great point. Why, why is there a box cutter? Why is there a blowtorch? Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

Why go through all this show, just shoot him like he shot Connie?

[Mike Ferguson]

It's kind of like Raiders of the Lost Ark when Harrison Ford, standing there, this guy pulls out this big sword.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

He just pulls out his gun and shoots him.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. It's done.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's over with. So I think you're bringing up an excellent point. So Richard's able to alert 911. Police found him partially zip tied to a folding chair with what were described as superficial knife wounds. According to police documents, Richard moaned and said, they're still in the house. When officers first arrived, he claimed his wife had been killed by a masked intruder. One team canvassed the neighborhood while another dusted for prints, swabbed for DNA, and took photos of the crime scene. A revolver believed to be the murder weapon was found near Connie's body. She had been shot once in the stomach and once in the back of the head. And it turned out that this gun was owned by the Debates. Richard had purchased it two months earlier.

[Mike Gibson]

That's not gonna look too good.

[Mike Ferguson]

No, it's not. But, you know, back to your point. If the intruder has the gun, why does he only shoot Connie and leave Richard with superficial wounds? You know, even a revolver probably has six shots. So if he shot Connie twice, more than likely he's got four bullets left. You would think he could have easily shot Richard, but he doesn't.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

So, you know, if you're the authorities, you have to be asking that question.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Because it's not like you're trying to keep the sound down at that point. You already fired it off twice anyway.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes.

[Mike Gibson]

So two more times, four more times is not going to make a difference.

[Mike Ferguson]

The other thing that would kind of stand out to me is it's always interesting when someone, a perpetrator, uses a gun that they found in the house.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. Did they know a gun was there? Did they know where it was? You know, these are all questions that I'm sure authorities are asking.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. And how did he get that gun out of that safe?

[Mike Ferguson]

If it was in a safe?

[Mike Gibson]

It was supposed to be in a safe because that's why she ran down there to retrieve the gun out of the safe.

[Mike Ferguson]

Connie's phone and Fitbit tracker that was tucked into her waistband were collected for analysis. Richard was interviewed for seven hours the day of the attack. And I think it was pretty clear to authorities very early on that his story just didn't add up. Initially he said he heard Connie get shot, but the next minute he said he witnessed the shooting. Yeah, those are obviously two very different things. His timeline was also questionable. Richard said he got home at 9am and Connie arrived five minutes later and was killed. However, he called 911 at 10:19am meaning that there was over an hour of time unaccounted for.

[Mike Gibson]

So this is not going to be looking good for Richard in the eyes of the detectives.

[Mike Ferguson]

No. I think very early on they had more questions than answers. Right. And more suspicions regarding Richard. Detectives questioned if the debates were victims of a deadly but random home invasion or if they were targeted. Apparently they had a bitter dispute with a contractor. But this line of investigation was a dead end because the man turned out to have a very strong alibi. Connie's friends and family questioned Richard's actions following her murder. According to Connie's friend, Kim Phillips, she and her friends were the last people at Connie's graveside after the funeral. Not Richard. He left.

[Mike Gibson]

And that's strange too, I feel.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I get it. You could make the argument that he was tired, he'd been dealing with the police, he'd been dealing with funeral plans. But if this is the love of your life, your soulmate, your one and only, for many people, you're going to have to drag them away.

[Mike Gibson]

Exactly.

[Mike Ferguson]

And put them in the car. Most people don't just say, oh, okay and turn around and leave. Connie's sister in law, Donna Judge, also noticed Richard left the burial reception quickly. Some thought he seemed to too Happy for someone whose wife was just murdered.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I mean, I get it. But I also understand people handle things differently. You know, I mean, maybe it's how he deals with things.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, people grieve in different ways. I mean, that's a saying. But seeming too happy, that's something that is kind of hard to fathom.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maybe not crying as much as someone thinks you should have. Okay, I get that maybe you cried for two days straight. You cried out. But how are you going to be giddy or too happy? Yeah, that doesn't. That doesn't seem to add up.

[Mike Gibson]

But if this is a family member, you would think the family member probably has a pretty good gauge of this individual's personality.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh. And how they act in different situations. Yeah, probably. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with a name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

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[Mike Ferguson]

Rumors persisted, but 18 months passed with no arrest. Investigators were still working behind the scenes. Detectives continued to question Richard's account because there was no sign of forced entry and no intruder scent was picked up by police dogs. And you know, when you think about someone planning a murder ahead of time.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Is that something that they would likely think about? Okay, I'm going to say that an intruder broke into the house. I'm probably not going to factor in that. A dog is not going to pick up any one scent. But my wife and I see.

[Mike Gibson]

And this is why I keep a bottle of Intruder Scent in my garage. For the times that I may need it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Is that Amazon? It actually is just called Intruder Scent.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Yeah, it's $29.99. I don't know how good it is.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's just the sweat of swarthy men.

[Mike Gibson]

I. I have not opened it yet. It's on my shelf. To be fair, I first bought it off a temu, but it Came in a much smaller bottle. I thought it was going to be a big bottle, but it came into like a micro sized bottle. I like all Teemu. You got me.

[Mike Ferguson]

So intruder scent. Oh, my goodness. But we mentioned Connie's Fitbit and this is such a huge part of this case. Data from Connie's Fitbit proved that Richard was lying. On April 14, 2017, Richard was charged with murder, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and providing a false statement. At the time of the arrest, people reported that for more than a year, police were unable to track down Connie's Fitbit. However, a 2025 article by Oxygen states that Connie's Fitbit was collected on the day of the murder. And we kind of said that.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

That's the way that some of the research said. But there was some conflicting data. Investigators created a detailed timeline using Fitbit data, cell phone and computer data, and the house alarm. Look. And we talked about it, Gibbs, on our episode coming out this Thursday. Digital footprints. Right. I just don't know that people understand the breadth and scope of our digital footprint.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, it's pretty detailed out there and

[Mike Ferguson]

what's retrievable and all of that good stuff.

[Mike Gibson]

I think a lot of times people think that because they delete it off their phone or delete this or that, it's gone, but it's not gone.

[Mike Ferguson]

Richard said he took the boys to the bus stop, came back home to get a work shirt and left at 8:30am Connie was home getting ready for a workout class at the YMCA. Fitbit data showed she left at 8:46am Richard logged into a computer at the house at 9:01am At 9:04, Richard sent his supervisor at work an email saying an alarm at the house went off and he'd have to return to check it. According to Richard's statement, Connie was murdered minutes later. But her Fitbit showed she was moving inside the house at 9:23am she went on Facebook between 9:40 and 9:46am posting videos to her page from her phone. Between 9:18 and 10:05am she walked 1,217ft, the total distance it would take Connie to walk from the car to the basement, as she did in Richard's statement was no more than 125ft. Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

So there's a lot more to the story.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and there's a lot that's contradicting his version.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, for sure.

[Mike Ferguson]

Investigators brought a K9 unit to the scene. The dog was tasked with trying to find the scent of the alleged intruder. On the first try, the dog was unable to follow the intruder scent. On a second attempt, the dog turned his attention to Richard. The dog even climbed into the ambulance, showing further interest in him.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, wow.

[Mike Ferguson]

So, I mean, we've talked about how amazing these dogs are, Whether it's, you know, like, people tracking, bomb sniffing, drug sniffing. It is just amazing to me what all these dogs can be trained to do.

[Mike Gibson]

I think you can train them to sniff anything.

[Mike Ferguson]

All right, yeah, I'm gonna leave that one alone. I had a bunch of good comebacks, but none are flattering. In total, three scent dogs failed to pick up the scent of anyone but Richard in the home. And that's where your intruder scent would come in very handy.

[Mike Gibson]

Absolutely. We had a package for three for $79.99, but I didn't think I needed that much.

[Mike Ferguson]

You'll probably be reordering.

[Mike Gibson]

Never know.

[Mike Ferguson]

According to the arrest warrant, the swabbing of the handle grip of the gun found Richard's DNA and DNA from an unidentified person. A gunshot residue test on Richard's hands was negative, but his shirt had residue on it. And I'm always a little bit leery about the whole gunshot residue test. I mean, can you wash your hands enough to get rid of gunshot residue? I mean, you know me. I shoot quite a bit. I was a competitive shooter for many, many years. I've got a ton of products that are designed to get rid of lead and things on your hands.

[Mike Gibson]

So is it as simple as washing your hands once with the right stuff to get rid of the gsr, or do you have to use it multiple times?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I don't know. Maybe just washing them four or five times. At some point, you probably could get rid of it. Yeah, is my thought. Now, what he probably didn't think about was residue landing on his shirt. State police learned that five days after the murder, Richard put in a claim for Connie's $475,000 life insurance policy. He had canceled his own policy two years earlier. They also discovered that less than a month after the murder, he withdrew $93,000 from an investment account in Connie's name.

[Mike Gibson]

You know, is there a correct time to file for insurance money?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, I don't know that, you know, on its face, it's all that incriminating. Yeah, I think for me, even five days later, it would probably be the last thing on my mind.

[Mike Gibson]

I would think so, too, because I'd

[Mike Ferguson]

be so grief stricken and dealing with everything that, you know, would have come along with that. But the other thing is, I Mean, did he need the money? We said it, right? He had a good job. Yeah, but it makes it seem like he did when he's claiming for the. Basically half a million and he's withdrawing almost 100,000 from her investment account.

[Mike Gibson]

Just seems a little too soon for. For me.

[Mike Ferguson]

I get it. You might need a little bit of money to replace her income. Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

And you had the funeral service and

[Mike Ferguson]

things like that, but $600,000? Yeah. Witnesses said they didn't recall Connie ever discussing problems in her marriage. However, investigators found the December 2014 entry in her notes app titled why I want a divorce.

[Mike Gibson]

That good old note app, man, the things that you can put in there.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. I got to be honest with you. If I found that in my wife's phone, I would be heartbroken. I don't even know what I would say.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, don't go looking.

[Mike Ferguson]

I don't. I don't look because I don't want to find anything. The list claimed that Richard took money from a lot of accounts that don't belong to him, was an unfit parent, was uncaring towards her, didn't come home on time, and acts like a kid constantly.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, she definitely had her issues with Richard.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I would say, if true, those are pretty well founded. Richard had taken out a card without Connie's knowledge and used it to pay for flowers for his girlfriend and more than $1,200 at a strip club and stays at a nearby motel.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay, that's not going to be good, Richard.

[Mike Ferguson]

No. Maybe now we're. We're getting into the area of why he's trying to obtain the life insurance money so quickly, why he's taking money out of Connie's investment accounts. I mean, you know, making it rain like a baller at a strip club, unless you use ones like you do, is it's not an inexpensive proposition.

[Mike Gibson]

You got to make the night last a little bit longer. Can't go in there and make it rain with hundreds like you.

[Mike Ferguson]

According to the arrest warrant, Richard and Connie fought over the TV bill the night before the murder. Connie claimed Richard was lying to her. Well, and let's be honest. It does sound as though, based on some of these things that came out, that he was lying to her.

[Mike Gibson]

I'm gonna say he probably was. Right. I mean, if he's gonna be lying about or not lying, but not telling her about how he's using this other credit card to buy flowers and, you know, strip club money and motel nights.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and let's not forget, the flowers were for his girlfriend. So that's kind of the biggest lie of them all. Investigators had known of Richard's potential motive since December 2015. While he was in the hospital, Richard admitted to having an affair with his longtime friend Sarah Ganzer. She became pregnant in May 2015. The day before Connie died, Richard texted Sarah, I'll see you tomorrow, my little love nugget.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, my little love nugget.

[Mike Ferguson]

I get the kind of pet names and intimate talk. Love nugget just doesn't seem to fit into that. No, just the word nugget itself shouldn't be used, I don't think, in. In sappy love talk.

[Mike Gibson]

No, it just doesn't apply.

[Mike Ferguson]

He and Sarah had a spat about him and Connie going on a weekend trip to Vermont. Sarah allegedly texted him, we're both navigating through bizarre circumstances. We are both experiencing new feelings and coping with new situations. Sarah told investigators that Richard told her he was going to serve Connie with divorce papers. In mid December, Richard spoke to a lawyer but never filed for divorce.

[Mike Gibson]

Probably because that divorce attorney said, look, man, you're going to have to give her at least half.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Or more. Whatever it was, you're going to lose a boatload of money. And I know I've said this before, I get it. Marriages don't work out. Even some of these marriages that from the outside look like they're the perfect union, they end up not working out. And at least one person, if not both, people want to go their separate ways. That happens. The divorce rate's fairly high. Let's be honest. The part that strikes me, and I guess the part I don't get, is once you get to that situation where you or your significant other has made the decision that they want out, I get it. You might be the one who wants it, or you might be opposed to it. But at what point does someone start to think, well, I would be better off if I just killed my partner, my spouse? That's what I don't get. How do you go from, I, I'm heartbroken because my relationship is ending to I'm going to kill this person for financial gain?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Takes a special type of individual to think that way.

[Mike Ferguson]

Richard allegedly told the police there was cheating going on in the beginning on both sides. He was surprised by the pregnancy, allegedly saying the situation popped up like a fricking soap opera. Well, that is the chance you're taking whenever you're having an affair.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. I mean, you knew what you were doing.

[Mike Ferguson]

You knew what could happen potentially. He initially said Connie was well aware of what Happened and wanted to have another baby but couldn't. He said he did some untraditional things and his girlfriend became pregnant. He claimed it was Connie's idea, in a way.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, it's Connie's idea. Because Connie's not here to back that story up at all or refute it.

[Mike Ferguson]

And there's also, like, every woman listening to this who is now rolling their eyes.

[Mike Gibson]

Exactly.

[Mike Ferguson]

Saying it was her idea. In a way.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. In a way. It's kind of what she wanted me to do.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, he said they plan to co parent the baby.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh.

[Mike Ferguson]

But Connie's friends and family said there was no way she would have agreed to such an arrangement. And she would have been angry to find out Richard was cheating. So, you know, let's just weigh this on our plausibility scale. On one side, you have Connie agreeing to Richard not only cheating, but having a baby.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

With another woman. And what, the three of them are going to co parent this baby? On the other side, you have. Connie would be furious if she even knew he was cheating. Which one seems more plausible?

[Mike Gibson]

I don't see that working out for any guy. Hey, babe, I'm gonna cheat on you. And I think I'm gonna have a baby with her. But you know what? Here. Here is the silver lining. You and I are going to co parent with her and grow this baby, you know, up.

[Mike Ferguson]

But what's even more ridiculous is he saying that it was her idea. Yeah, in a way. Yeah. To do that.

[Mike Gibson]

Okay. Richard.

[Mike Ferguson]

Richard then changed his story and said the pregnancy was accidental.

[Mike Gibson]

There's the truth.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, there's always that part, right. In every case where the person changes their story. And why do they change their story? And for me, it's a couple of reasons. One, either they're hit with irrefutable evidence that their story is BS and couldn't possibly be true. Or, you know, maybe he talked to an attorney, and the attorney said, hey, dude, what you're saying is not believable.

[Mike Gibson]

You.

[Mike Ferguson]

You need to come up with something else.

[Mike Gibson]

And it. And it doesn't even play right. I mean, why. Why even make up such a bullshit story when you just come out of the gate right away and said, yeah, she got pregnant by accident.

[Mike Ferguson]

Richard. Debate's murder trial started on April 4, 2022. A jury was selected back in early 2020, but state court shut down due to the pandemic. A judge dismissed that jury in August 2021, and a new panel was chosen in early 2022. And it seems like a lifetime ago, right? 2020 yeah, it was six years ago.

[Mike Gibson]

It was good. You're good with your math.

[Mike Ferguson]

It seems like even longer.

[Mike Gibson]

It does to me.

[Mike Ferguson]

But I do remember. I mean, just so many cases being pushed because. Just things weren't working. A lot of things weren't working.

[Mike Gibson]

I wasn't working.

[Mike Ferguson]

No, you were not. The jury heard that Richard claimed a masked intruder broke in and killed Connie, then burned and tied him to a chair. However, as we said earlier, a police K9 unit did not detect anyone else's presence in the home. Additionally, Connie's Fitbit data indicated she was moving around for an hour after Richard said she was killed. And how many times do we say, Gibbs, that, you know, the victim is not around to refute someone's statement? Yeah, but here she is refuting Richard's detailed version. At least her Fitbit is.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, her Fitbit's telling her story.

[Mike Ferguson]

The prosecution argued that Richard had been planning the murder for months. He purchased a gun that Connie didn't know about, while Richard claimed he told Connie about the fair, that there was no evidence of that in their messages or between Connie and her family and friends. And I'm just thinking about me personally. Right. If this was something that came up in my marriage, I know for a fact there would be texts back and forth. If my wife was angry, she'd send me a text from work. Yeah. Because it would just hit her all of a sudden that she got angry

[Mike Gibson]

and she want to let you know about it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes. And I'm sure that happens in many other relationships as well. And I'm not even talking about cheating. If it was cheating, you know, all bets are off.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

There's no limit to what might be said during tax or voicemails or whatever.

[Mike Gibson]

She might be sending you a text just saying you left the butter out on the counter all day. I'm not happy about that.

[Mike Ferguson]

Oh, I get those already.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I'm not cheating, so I think it'd be much worse than that. But there was evidence of Connie's plans to leave Richard. She had a list of reasons for wanting a divorce, and infidelity was not among those reasons. And I think that says a lot. Right. We mentioned this kind of Apple iPhone, notes app. Right. And she had her list of reasons for wanting to divorce Richard. You would think if she knew he was having an affair, that would probably be the first entry.

[Mike Gibson]

It would definitely be on the list, if not the very first thing. Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

The defense argued the investigation was mishandled. Investigators had tunnel vision and made up their minds about Richard and worked backwards from there. Key locations of interest were not looked into and not enough DNA was collected. The defense questioned the accuracy of Connie's Fitbit data and emphasized that unidentified DNA was found in six areas of the crime scene. The defense also laid out a six minute timeline after the moment Richard allegedly triggered the panic alarm, asking the jury whether it would have been possible for Richard to, in that brief time, stage an elaborate crime scene.

[Mike Gibson]

I'm sorry, but he could stage the scene before he pushed the panic button.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, that's a great point. I would never do it, but I don't really know how long it takes to cut yourself with a box knife, burn yourself with, with the blowtorch, and then zip tie your hand to a folding chair.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, it's one minute, 19 seconds.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. Investigators testify that they found no forced entry to the home or evidence someone fled the property. They also said Richard never asked how Connie was or showed concern. And I find that to be, in many cases, such a big thing. Right. If this is your wife, your husband, your significant other, a person whom you're allegedly in love with.

[Mike Gibson]

Right.

[Mike Ferguson]

And you know something happened to them, you said you heard a gunshot. Would your first question not be, how is my wife?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. Is she okay?

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, who doesn't ask those questions?

[Mike Gibson]

Someone already knows the answer.

[Mike Ferguson]

Exactly. Three state police K9 handlers testified about searching the home to locate the intruder scent. Trooper Ryan Kluecke testified it was determined there was no exit trails leaving that residential. Another handler testified the same Dr. Keith Diaz, an assistant professor at Columbia University School of Medicine and an established expert on wearable fitness devices, testified that the Fitbit one which Connie was wearing was 98% accurate. When asked by the defense, he testified that it was unlikely that the device the Fitbit was synced with did not have the accurate time.

[Mike Gibson]

It works 74% of the time. All the time, or what does that

[Mike Ferguson]

guy say, 60% of the time? It works every time.

[Mike Gibson]

There you go.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, if you think about what he's saying, right, you think about syncing up to a cell phone or a computer. Yeah. I mean, when's the last time you looked at your cell phone or your computer and the time wasn't right?

[Mike Gibson]

That's true. It's always correct.

[Mike Ferguson]

Sarah Ganzer testified about her affair with Richard in the months before the murder. She never pushed Richard for a divorce, not even after finding out she was pregnant. She said, per the Journal Inquirer, I did not want to break up their family. She did hope the divorce would happen and was Frustrated and fed up by Richard's back and forth statements on the subject. Richard and Sarah had known each other since they were children in school. After she got divorced in 2014, she moved back to Manchester and communicated with Richard as friends. In May 2015, they began a romantic relationship. It was later that month she became pregnant with his child. She told Richard about the baby in June. That same month, Richard said he was preparing for divorce and by fixing up the house to get it ready to sell.

[Mike Gibson]

Sounds like Richard probably liked having his cake and eating it too, as a

[Mike Ferguson]

lot of these men that we talk about do. Right. They're selfish, they're narcissistic, they think that the entire world revolves around them, what they want, you know, all of that stuff. Now, some women listening will say, you're talking about every man I've ever met. And that could be true. I, I don't know. My wife might say some of the same things about me.

[Mike Gibson]

Possibly.

[Mike Ferguson]

But I do want to touch on Sarah for a little bit. You know, I don't want to run her down. People have affairs.

[Mike Gibson]

Well, that happens.

[Mike Ferguson]

I, I know that that happens. She was not married at the time, but she certainly knew that Richard was. Now, what is he telling her? You know, I, I'm. My marriage is terrible. I'm in the process of. Of getting a divorce. You can imagine what this guy is saying.

[Mike Gibson]

He's telling her everything that he thinks she wants to hear.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yes. And that is probably going to make her feel okay with having this relationship because she thinks his is over. And it's just, it's just a matter of finalizing it. Almost as if someone is separated.

[Mike Gibson]

Right. Right. She's like, I'm not breaking this family up. This, this relationship's breaking up with or without me.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. It's already broken.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. So I'm with the guy I really like, and I'm okay with that, knowing that I'm not the reason behind this.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, in August, Richard said he was thinking about staying with Connie. Then in November, he said he was going to move out. And he and Connie were on the same page about divorce.

[Mike Gibson]

Oh, were they?

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, according to him. Right. He's telling this to Sarah, but he's also giving her mixed signals. You know, one minute, divorce, another minute, I'm staying with my wife. And then again, it's back to, we're getting a divorce.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. So he's, you know, messing with Sarah's head.

[Mike Ferguson]

Sarah acknowledged that there were times during that year when she told Richard to leave her alone, but he always made his way Back into her life. She planned to parent her daughter alone and didn't even tell her mother. Richard was the father until after Connie was killed. Richard wasn't present for the birth, but they did co parent for a time and resumed their relationship around 2017, 2018, when possible, Richard would come over to help with their daughter.

[Mike Gibson]

That's the co parenting.

[Mike Ferguson]

In October 2021, Sarah filed a child custody application, seeking sole custody with a parenting plan and visitation schedule. Richard was called as a defense witness and recounted his marriage to Connie. He testified that their youngest son had a cleft lip and needed medical treatment. The trips from Connecticut to Boston and the costs incurred put pressure on their relationship. He said he and Connie had good days and bad days. Richard testified that he told Connie about the affair and they had more good days than bad.

[Mike Gibson]

So you start an affair, you tell your significant other, hey, I'm having an affair, and then after that, you have more good days than bad days.

[Mike Ferguson]

Wouldn't go that way for most people.

[Mike Gibson]

I don't think so. Otherwise, people be starting affairs out here.

[Mike Ferguson]

Now, he could also be saying, you know, in the first years, those were all good, and then there was some bad in the last few, but there was more good than bad. I mean, you got to parse out people's language. What do they really mean?

[Mike Gibson]

That's true.

[Mike Ferguson]

It's hard to believe if he did tell her that after they had more good days than bad, According to wtnh, he said, I love two women, and I didn't want to push either of them away. What is that, Gibbs? You said it earlier. Having your cake and eating it, too. Yeah. He agreed that Sarah never pressured him to get a divorce. Richard testified that he came home on the morning of December 23, 2015, after realizing on his way to work that he left his laptop at home. When he got home, he heard a noise upstairs. He went upstairs and was met by a masked man, much larger than him, who was wearing a hunting style suit and had a deep voice like Vin Diesel.

[Mike Gibson]

Vin Diesel is probably like, why is this guy bringing up my voice?

[Mike Ferguson]

Why is he putting me in the middle of this murder trial? The man robbed him, then chased Connie into the basement and shot her. He tied Richard to a folding chair, stabbed him in the legs, and fled. Once they were in the basement, he heard one gunshot and saw Connie fall motionless to the ground. This is all according to wtnh. And again, let's go back and analyze this. At one point, he said he only heard the gunshot. Yeah, he never actually saw Connie get shot. Now he's telling something a little different. But I want to go back to, you know, something that we touched on earlier, which is. So you have this masked man who is willing to shoot a woman, a mother, a wife, but he just ties Richard up to the folding chair and stabs him in his legs.

[Mike Gibson]

Who ties somebody up to a folding chair?

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Mike Gibson]

That's like you're at Little League or soccer.

[Mike Ferguson]

And what kind of Little League in soccer did you play? I never got tied to no folding chairs.

[Mike Gibson]

What are these? These, like, really weak folding chairs you're getting zip tied to, like that's going to hold somebody from moving. Like, I got you zipped down in that folding chair, buddy. You're not going anywhere. Well, you will be going somewhere because they're not very heavy and you'll be able to wiggle yourself out or.

[Mike Ferguson]

But also, what is stabbing someone in the legs with a box knife. Yeah. Gonna do? Now, if you severed their femoral artery, that's different.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure.

[Mike Ferguson]

But these are superficial wounds.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And what does that normally tell us about the scenario? I think more often than not, the person inflicted those wounds themselves.

[Mike Gibson]

Yes, exactly. Now, this time around, they. He happened to leave out the blowtorch.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, he did. In closing arguments, prosecutor Matthew Gadanski said that Richard hatched a plant to kill Connie and stage a home invasion as his life was about to unravel with the upcoming birth of his girlfriend's child. Again, the defense questioned the reliability of the data from the Fitbit Tracker, arguing they weren't designed with the accuracy needed for court testimony. The defense also pointed to unknown DNA found in the home, including on the murder weapon. And we say this all the time. Right. The defense has to try a bunch of different things.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure they do.

[Mike Ferguson]

They are trying hard to plant any type of reasonable doubt seed that they can. Is the Fitbit tracker data reliable enough for court testimony? Well, you had one witness, professional, who said it was, and then you have this unknown DNA. How could unknown DNA be on a murder weapon? You think maybe it's the person who sold it to him two months ago?

[Mike Gibson]

Could have been.

[Mike Ferguson]

Maybe have no idea.

[Mike Gibson]

Could have been somebody looking at the gun. Could have been somebody, like you said, at one time had it in their possession.

[Mike Ferguson]

The defense emphasized testimony from a housekeeper who said they may have seen a dark, dark green figure move past that window around the time of the crime. However, it should be noted, per the Hartford Current, that the housekeeper said it may have been a deer or a reflection. All right. Yeah. I don't know what you make of that.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

On May 10, 2022, Richard Debate was found guilty of murder, tampering with evidence, and making a false statement to authorities. After the conviction, longtime friend and neighbor Wayne Roux spoke on behalf of Connie's family, saying, the pain of Connie's loss and the length of this trial has been especially hurtful to the family. Connie is no longer here for family gatherings, holidays, or her children's milestones. Connie was essentially sentenced to death while this convicted murderer has been living his life while out on parole for six and a half years. Okay. If I'm the family, I am ticked about that.

[Mike Gibson]

That's a long time be out and about. I mean, I know we had Covid during that time, so you got to put that into the equation.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah, you do. You do. And I get it. You know, sometimes even for people charged with murder, there can be bail bond, you know?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

So I think they had some money. I still don't understand why he needed to try to get his hands on all of this money so quickly. I do wonder, was he able to use any of that money to post bonds?

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Because you'd be mad as the family about that as well.

[Mike Gibson]

Of course you would.

[Mike Ferguson]

State's attorney Matthew Gdanski said that while technology helped prove Richard was guilty, Connie's murder was an example of domestic violence. He said, in the end, though, this was another case of domestic violence, and though much progress has been made in recent years to support victims and survivors and to hold abusers accountable, these domestic violence homicides are still happening. So we must continue to work together to end domestic violence.

[Mike Gibson]

Hey, man, we really do. I mean, if you think about this case and if you think about the case that is dropping Thursday, you know, it's another domestic violence case.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, you know what people get scared about? You know, John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

Ted Bundy. Right. Those people are scary. And don't get me wrong, but I think they pale in comparison to the number of domestic violence homicides that happen in one year. Right. They're scary because they killed a bunch of people.

[Mike Gibson]

Sure.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I get that. But to your point, this is a. It's a real epidemic. I don't know what the answer is. I'm sometimes ashamed of my. My gender, because obviously, we know it's predominantly males who commit these types of heinous crimes. And I just. Even after 10 years of doing, you know, the research for these episodes, I still fail to be able to wrap my mind around it.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah, I get it. You know, things aren't working out. Go Your separate ways.

[Mike Ferguson]

You know, I don't understand killing a stranger for money.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And I certainly don't understand killing someone you loved, someone you had children with, for money. To me, that one's even, you know, harder to understand.

[Mike Gibson]

To kill them for money or killing them just because they don't want you anymore, but you want them. It's just sickening, really.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Yeah, it is. On August 18, 2022, Richard was sentenced to 65 years in prison. On October 30, 2024, Richard's case was appealed before the Connecticut Supreme Court. His team argued that the prosecutor engaged in a pattern of impropriety that denied Richard a fair trial by failing to disclose evidence before trial, violating prior evidentiary rulings, asking the defendant to comment on witnesses testimony, seeking to elicit evidence of prior uncharged misconduct, commenting on the defendant's right to remain silent, and making improper emotional appeals to the jury. In March 2025, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld Richard's conviction, ruling Richard was not deprived of a fair trial because of four missteps by the prosecutor, which they did say were troubling. Yeah, and you actually see this quite a bit. Right. There are higher courts who find that, well, the prosecutors made some mistakes, but it doesn't invalidate the trial. It wouldn't have changed the outcome of the trial is a lot of times the language they use. One impropriety occurred when Matthew gdansky mentioned the 2007 home invasion murders in Cheshire, Connecticut, where the suspects killed a woman and her two daughters after terrorizing them for hours and beating her husband. Gdanski asked Richard if he was trying to create a little mini Cheshire scene in his home at the time. The judge upheld the defense's objection and asked Gdanski to rephrase. But he asked nearly the exact question. The state Supreme Court agreed that the question was unnecessarily inflammatory. Gdanski also suggested the jury would have to be unintelligent or lazy to agree with the defense. But despite these improprieties, the state's case was strong and the missteps didn't overshadow the testimony of 130 witnesses and 600 exhibits.

[Mike Gibson]

That's pretty strong.

[Mike Ferguson]

It is. I think they had a really strong case. So as we wrap this one up, Gibbs, Richard debate will likely continue to appeal his conviction. But in this case, the evidence clearly shows his entire story was a lot. Richard fabricated an elaborate story of about a masked intruder murdering his wife, but he didn't account for the fact that her cell phone and personal fitness device would prove Connie Was alive and well until he killed her. And we've already talked about, you know, how unbelievable it is that, you know, someone could come to the decision that they need to murder their spouse because of whatever reason they want to be with someone else or they don't want to get a divorce and give up half their money. Things that many people do day in and day out. It's just part of life. But they don't want to do it. So they're more than willing to sacrifice

[Mike Gibson]

a person's life and a person that, at one point, they were madly in love with.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yep. And had kids with. Yeah. I also think this is a case of, you know, Richard thinking he was smarter than what he really was. Right. He thought he had this all worked out.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. He really did.

[Mike Ferguson]

The timing. I will cut my legs with a box knife, maybe stick a blowtorch on some part of my body. I got some zip ties here. The police are going to buy that. I'm not a policeman, and I wouldn't buy that. First of all, if I'm an intruder and I've already shot a woman, why would I have any qualms about shooting you?

[Mike Gibson]

Exactly.

[Mike Ferguson]

The male.

[Mike Gibson]

Why would I go to the extent of tying you up to a cheesy folding chair and then just, what's the box knife to your legs doing for me? Like, what's that doing?

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, and let's not forget he said the guy had a knife with him. Yeah. So he puts the knife down, grabs the box knife to then inflict some superficial wounds. It just doesn't make sense.

[Mike Gibson]

It doesn't. And the blowtorch sounds like a bunch of smoke to me. But at the end of the day, I agree. If I. If I was that guy that he said killed Connie, I would just turn the gun and killed him at the same time. Why would you leave somebody behind to tell the story? You wouldn't.

[Mike Ferguson]

Well, at that point, you're already a murderer.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah. So go ahead and just finish it out.

[Mike Ferguson]

Okay. Well, I wouldn't say it that way, but I. I get what you're saying. That person would do it. You're not telling them to go ahead and finish it out. You're saying the person in their mind would say, yeah, okay, because it came off a little bit like you're saying, just finish it out.

[Mike Gibson]

No, I do not endorse.

[Mike Ferguson]

But that's it for our episode on Connie debate. We got a voicemail. You want to check that out?

[Mike Gibson]

Let's hear it.

[Mike Ferguson]

Hi, my name is Emily. I am a longtime listener of both true crime all the time and true crime all the time. Unsolved. I wanted to call about Larry and Connie van osten. It's wild. I live right down the road from there, like, 15 minutes away from erie, and I have never heard of the thing, so it's interesting to hear about a crime that happened in my neck of the woods. And I just wanted to say it is, in fact, pronounced geneseo. I am team Mike. Sorry, Gibby. It is what it is. So you guys have a good day and keep your own time ticking.

[Mike Gibson]

Now, why are you saying sorry? Because you said your team, Mike.

[Mike Ferguson]

Mike, you take credit for all.

[Mike Gibson]

You know what she's trying to say, you know, like, hey, I'm team mike. Wink, wink. Sorry, Gibby. Wink, wink.

[Mike Ferguson]

She literally said, sorry, Gibby. Just give me one every now and then. For the love of Pete. Now. We appreciate the voicemail. You know, is interesting, Gibbs, because morph and I covered a case on criminology last week where a body was found in the. The miami river here, about a mile from where I live.

[Mike Gibson]

Yeah.

[Mike Ferguson]

And so I kind of experienced that a little bit where the case hit close to home. And it does give you a little bit of a different type of feeling.

[Mike Gibson]

It does. I've been working on a case that's near where I live that we'll be doing next week. So it definitely has, like you said, that different feel.

[Mike Ferguson]

Yeah. Yeah, it hits. It just hits a little different. Yeah, no doubt about it. All right, buddy. That is it for another episode of true crime all the time. So for Mike and gibby, stay safe and keep your own time ticking.

[Mike Gibson]

Sam,

[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

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[Mike Gibson]

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[Mike Ferguson]

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