In brutal CT murder case, lawyer appealing convictions, seeking new trial for Sergio Correa

The Hartford man convicted of brutally killing three members of a Griswold family during a home invasion in 2017 is appealing his many convictions.

Sergio Correa, 30, filed a preliminary statement of appeal with the state Supreme Court this month, beginning the lengthy appeal process.

Newly filed court documents reveal his intent to appeal several convictions, including murder with special circumstances — the most serious crime a person can be convicted of in Connecticut — for which he has been sentenced to a lifetime in prison without the possibility of parole.

Records show Correa plans to bring forward at least 11 reasons for his appeal, including questioning whether there was enough reasonable evidence to find him guilty, whether the jury was given proper instructions and whether he was denied his right to a speedy trial.

The goal of the appeal, said Correa’s appellate attorney Jenn Smith, is to get a new trial on all of the convictions.

Correa and his sister, Ruth Correa, were both sentenced in May for their roles in the slayings of Kenneth, Janet and Matthew Lindquist in Griswold four years ago. Just days before Christmas in 2017, the siblings attacked Matthew Lindquist with a machete and left him in the woods, where he died, then headed to his parents’ house in the Kenwood Estates neighborhood, where they bludgeoned his father with a baseball bat, tortured and strangled his mother, struck their golden retriever with a golf club and set fire to the house the family had built.

Sergio Correa was sentenced in May to life behind bars plus 105 years by Judge Hunchu Kwak, while his younger sister was sentenced to 40 years after making a plea deal with state prosecutors.

Sergio Correa’s weeks-long trial had been repeatedly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and included often gruesome testimony from dozens of investigators, medical examiners, an ex-girlfriend and his sister as members of the Lindquist family and their friends filled the courtroom day after day.

The elder Correa was painted as the mastermind of the deadly crime spree when his sister took the stand against him. He was convicted by a jury in December on 13 charges connected to the Lindquist murders.

Also in recently filed court documents, Correa and his attorney requested nearly 1,600 pages of transcripts from various court appearances. Court records show that the transcripts will be provided by October.

Smith said she estimates it will take six to nine months for her team to receive all the transcripts they need, and another five to six months to prepare and file a brief in the case.

Smith said she is familiar with Correa’s case, having assisted his defense attorneys Joseph Lopez and Corrie Ann Mainville with some legal strategy and motion writing during the trial. But the sheer volume of content from the long trial will take time to review.

“It’s over 150 volumes of transcripts. It’s going to be a lot of work,” Smith said.

Smith said she is looking forward to taking on the case.

“I firmly believe that everyone has a constitutional right to a fair trial,” she told The Courant. “And I look forward to taking on this appeal and continuing Sergio’s defense.”

At his sentencing in May, Correa — who had been mostly silent since his arrest years ago — spoke in court and asked the judge to allow him to represent himself, effectively asking to fire his lawyers, Lopez and Mainville. The judge denied his request.

Smith said she thinks Lopez and Mainville made a great case for Correa.

“Cory and Joe put on an incredibly fierce defense and have certainly preserved several and interesting and strong claims that will be grounds for the appeal,” she said.

Lopez said that Smith has filed all the appropriate paperwork to start the appeals process and that the case “is now in her lap.”

He said he expects it to be a long process, too.

“It’s quite a process for these things before they get argued,” he said.

Lopez deferred all other questions about the appeal to Smith.

Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen M. Carney, who prosecuted the case, declined to comment on the appeal.

The Lindquist murders started as a plot between Matthew Lindquist — who was in the throes of withdrawal from a substance use disorder — and Sergio Correa to trade guns for drugs.

When the Correa siblings arrived in Griswold, the plan went awry and turned violent, with judges describing the case as the worst murders they’ve seen in the New London court district.

Members of the Lidnquist family, including Kenneth and Janet’s surviving son, Eric Lindquist, and Kenneth Lindquist’s daughter Danielle Lindquist, delivered emotional victim impact statements at the siblings’ sentencings in which they implored the court to sentence Sergio and Ruth Correa to lengthy sentences to keep their family safe.

The Lindquist siblings have spoken openly about the drastic emotional toll the murders have taken on every facet of their lives. They both attended every day of Sergio Correa’s trial.

Ruth Correa, 27, is serving her sentence in York Correctional Institution in Niantic, according to Department of Corrections Records. She can be released by the time she turns 67, if not earlier.

Correa is currently incarcerated at the Cheshire Correctional Institution, according to the DOC.