Jury: Hesse not guilty of murdering father; plea bargains on another charge

Apr. 5—A jury today found Gabriel B. Hesse not guilty of murdering his father, Halsey Hesse Jr., formerly of Ellington, who died of more than 70 stab wounds in his East Windsor mobile home in October 2019.

Hesse had two other cases pending but he plea bargained them within an hour of his noontime acquittal.

In the plea bargain, Hesse accepted a conviction of attempted first-degree escape from custody in an incident that occurred at the Hartford courthouse on Dec. 3, 2019. He entered the plea bargain under the Alford Doctrine, meaning that he didn't admit guilt, but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence for conviction.

Judge Kevin Doyle, who presided over the murder trial, immediately imposed the agreed-upon sentence of four and a half years in prison, which is more than time Hesse has served since his arrest in the attempted escape case. But because escape is considered a nonviolent crime, with parole eligibility after serving half the time, he is eligible for parole now.

As part of the plea bargain, prosecutor Robert Diaz dropped six counts each of second-degree forgery and sixth-degree larceny based on accusations that Hesse committed check frauds in Windsor Locks in May and June 2019.

The attempted escape conviction stems from an incident in which Hesse slipped out of handcuffs after a transport van delivered him to the courthouse while he was facing the murder charge. Diaz said a judicial marshal told Hesse to go back to the chain where he had been handcuffed, but Hesse refused. Hesse then told the marshal to give him the keys, which the marshal took to mean the keys to the transport van, the prosecutor said.

In the murder trial, which began March 21, prosecutor Amy Bepko presented a circumstantial case that included DNA evidence that two items found in Gabriel Hesse' possession, a black sneaker and a long screwdriver, had blood on them that almost certainly came from his father.

Testifying in his own defense, Hesse admitted much of the prosecution's evidence against him but denied that he had killed his father. Hesse testified that he had found his father's body a full day before he called 911 to report the death and that he had taken property from his father's mobile home, including his father's bank card, a safe, and a black-powder pistol.

Hesse testified that he had a drug problem and needed money to buy heroin. He also admitted that he had lied to police during at least three interviews they conducted as part of their investigation of his father's death.

Hesse has been in jail, held in lieu of high bond, since his arrest in the murder case on Nov. 15, 2019.

When the judge gave him the chance to speak before he was sentenced in the attempted escape case, Hesse said, "I just want to go home."

The judge said Hesse will have the chance to re-start his life and advised him strongly to stay away from drugs.

For updates on Glastonbury, and recent crime and courts coverage in North-Central Connecticut, follow Alex Wood on Twitter: @AlexWoodJI1, Facebook: Alex Wood, and Instagram: @AlexWoodJI.