'Just manslaughter.' Family of Norwich artist appalled by sentence for his accused killer

NEW LONDON — For the better part of an hour on Thursday, family members of a slain Norwich artist and postal worker spoke – frequently with cracking voices and tear-filled eyes – of their loss just a few feet away from the man set to be sentenced for what a presiding judge called another “senseless” death.

Elmar Baker, 42, was sentenced by Judge Hillary Strackbein to 17 years in prison, an agreed-on term reached after the Colchester resident pleaded guilty in October under the Alford Doctrine to a count of first-degree manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of Joseph “Jo-Jo” Kolodnicki Jr. on Oct. 30, 2018.

The length of the sentence galled many of Kolodnicki’s family members, including his older son, Azariah Kolodnicki , whose statement was read aloud by cousin Brandie Perry.

“There is nothing more painful and debilitating in the world than to have your world itself shattered, taken away from you forever and watch it spat on by selfish, greedy people,” he wrote. “I’m shocked that anyone could call this just manslaughter.”

Azariah Kolodnicki, who was not in the courthouse, called his father his “best friend,” a man whose gentle nature and approachable warmth typified his Jehovah’s Witness faith.

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“The one who could fully understand me and guide me into adulthood the most effectively is gone,” he wrote. “No one will truly understand the horrors in my mind, thanks to the premeditated and cold-blooded murder of my father.”

Jo-Jo Kolodnicki’s other son, Joshua, also spoke of the loss his father’s death engendered.

“Though I myself have tried to forgive the defendant as my Bible teaches, I have no comment on the defendant’s plea offer and/or sentence,” he said.

Jo-Jo Kolodnicki’s father said he and his family have always strived to live by their religion’s principles of kindness, compassion and empathy.

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“But now, because of this person’s uncontrollable rage, we have a big hole ripped in our family,” Joseph Kolodnicki Sr. said, referring to Baker, who stared straight ahead during the victims’ statements. “Part of our family is missing.”

Other family members spoke of their loved one’s sweet disposition, his unflagging optimism and ability to wring a smile out of those around him.

What happened the night of Jo-Jo Kolodnicki's death?

According to a state police investigation report and testimony at a 2019 probable cause hearing, Jo-Jo Kolodnicki’s wife picked Baker up at his home at 55 Renee Drive in Colchester on the day of the attack and the two worked together cleaning up a flooded basement, something the pair had done nearly every day during the prior three weeks.

A little before 4 p.m., she testified to driving Baker to a second job at a food stand in Colchester and waited for him. They next went to a car wash and arrived outside Baker’s home about 7:30 p.m. when Jo-Jo Kolodnicki, a U.S. Postal Service employee with a route in downtown Norwich, pulled up behind them, police said.

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Jo-Jo Kolodnicki’s wife told police her husband began yelling at her and pushing Baker, asking him “What are you doing with my wife?” The confrontation escalated into a shoving match between the two men, police said.

Though not included in the police report, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Thomas Delillo previously said Baker “apparently” entered his apartment at some point and likely grabbed a kitchen knife before returning to the parking lot where Jo-Jo Kolodnicki was standing.

Delillo said Jo-Jo Kolodnicki was stabbed in his chest and upper body and Baker threw the knife into a nearby patch of woods. Baker told police that he blacked out after Jo-Jo Kolodnicki punched him and didn’t remember anything about the fight.

Delillo on Thursday acknowledged the plea deal was unsatisfactory to surviving family members and they might feel that “justice, perhaps, was not served in this case.” He said that when the entire context of the case is considered, the sentence was fair and appropriate.

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Many of Jo-Jo Kolodnicki’s family spoke of his natural artistic ability, one that led to several of his paint and pencil drawings to be placed prominently in buildings across Norwich, including the Slater Art Museum at Norwich Free Academy and the Norwich Superior Court. A portrait of President Abraham Lincoln by Jo-Jo Kolodnicki was donated to the city shortly after his death and hangs on a second-floor wall of Norwich City Hall.

What did Elmar Baker say about the death of Jo-Jo Kolodnicki?

Before his sentencing, Baker, reading from a crumpled piece of paper he retrieved from his jail pants, apologized to family members, including his own, but insisted he never planned to hurt - much less kill - Jo-Jo Kolodnicki four years ago.

“It could very easily be me up there,” he said, gesturing to a video screen flashing pictures featuring a smiling Jo-Jo Kolodnicki. “For four years, I’ve had to defend the fact that I stand and breathe. Today, I stop that fight and put my life in the court’s hands.”

Baker said he understands he’s the “focal point” of the survivors’ suffering.

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“And I accept that,” he said. “I know who I am and what I am.”

Baker in 2020 rejected a plea offer that called for him to plead guilty to manslaughter in exchange for an 18-year sentence and the right for his public defender, John Delbarba, to argue for 15 years in prison. Under the Alford Doctrine that Baker invoked as part of his guilty plea, a defendant may disagree with a narrative presented by prosecutors, but is unwilling to take a case to trial and risk a longer sentence.

Delbarba said his client was "not looking for trouble" on the day of Jo-Jo Kolodnicki's death and said evidence showed Baker was "watched and followed" for a period of time by the victim before their fatal confrontation.

During his statement, Joseph Kolodnicki said he takes solace in his faith’s promise that he’ll see his son again in the “near future.”

“At that time, the hole that has been ripped in our lives and in our family will finally be filled in again, healed,” he said, his voice breaking.

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: 17-year sentence imposed on man who fatally stabbed a Norwich artist