'Still waiting': Survivors seek justice as they remember domestic violence victims
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Nov. 4—NEW LONDON — Joseph Parise, a Waterford Police Department chaplain whose brother was murdered in New London four years ago, said he can't watch cop shows anymore.
He related the story to a crowd of more than 50 people gathered in the Garde Arts Center Wednesday night for the annual Safe Futures candlelight vigil, which remembers those killed in domestic violence-related homicides.
"And I can't go to movies where people are killed because I know that killing is real. It's not a joke. It's not made for Hollywood. It's real. And real people die," he said.
Robert Parise, 63, was stabbed repeatedly by his former partner and housemate, Christopher Petteway, on Oct. 4, 2018, according to police.
Petteway's trial has been delayed over the years for reasons that include multiple grievances from the accused man. He declined a plea deal that would have resulted in 35 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea. Now he faces up to 70 years if convicted at trial of the charges of murder and violating terms of a standing protective order.
Jury selection was completed in June but delays continue. The trial is currently slated to begin in January.
"I'm not overly optimistic," Joseph Parise said. "The court system is bogged down. And it's slow. And that's being kind."
The ceremony was held for the 13 victims who lost their lives in New London County since 2013, according to Safe Futures CEO Katherine Verano.
One of them was Jason Beck of Norwich. He was 33 when he died after being stabbed by his longtime partner, Jeffrey Stovall Jr., on Jan. 18, 2020. Stovall remains in prison while the case is pending in New London Superior Court.
His mother, Jeanette Kenney, said she, too, is still waiting.
"It's been almost three years. Still waiting for the court," she said.
She said the court process and the vigil might explain her son's presence in a dream the previous night in which he gave her a hug and a kiss that felt real.
"Then I woke up," she said.
There was a candle for each victim, the LED lights switched on one after another.
Shelby Dodson, 23, died in New London in July. Her husband, George Dodson, 23, was charged with her murder and the attempted murder of his child, a 13-month-old who was left in a crib when police said Dodson lit his home on fire. He pleaded not guilty and is next scheduled to appear on Nov. 8.
Birdie Savage, a Navy wife, attended the vigil with other military spouses. She thanked the New London community for remembering Shelby Dodson. Then she asked them to keep the young woman's memory alive when Savage and her friends have moved on from the naval base that brought them here.
"Because we're leaving a piece of ourselves here when we go onto our next journey," she said.
Also this year, police said 18-year-old Arisleidy Batista-Bido was shot and killed by her boyfriend, Nikeuri Rodriguez-Vargas, before he set fire to the home they shared and shot himself.
Patricia Sullivan of Norwich died last year after succumbing to injuries. Her alleged attacker, Michael Gervais, was charged with manslaughter this year. His case is pending.
Brandia Irvin of Pawcatuck was fatally stabbed on Nov. 30, 2019, in front of her 12-year-old son, allegedly by her live-in boyfriend, Carlton Henderson. He is in prison awaiting trial on a murder charge.
Joey Gingerella, 24, of Groton was intervening on behalf of a woman who was being beaten by her partner, Dante Hughes, when he was shot and killed by Hughes on Dec. 11, 2016. Hughes was convicted of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and criminal possession of a firearm and is serving a 45-year prison sentence.
The others remembered are Antonio Chajon, 39, of New London, who was fatally strangled by his roommate in 2013; Delma Murphy, 46, of New London, stabbed to death by her longtime partner in 2015; Diana Hodgdon, 58, of Norwich, fatally shot by her husband in 2015; Margarette Mady, 42, of Norwich, who was pregnant when, police say, her husband fatally stabbed her in 2016; and Corina Zukowski, 25, of Waterford, who was fatally stabbed at the Starlight Inn in East Lyme in December 2018 by her boyfriend, Avery Hallbrooks.
Six years after Mady was killed, a three-judge panel in September found her husband, Patrick Antoine, not guilty by reason of "mental disease or defect" in September. He was committed to Whiting Forensic Hospital. The length of his committal will be announced after a hearing scheduled for Nov. 14 in New London Superior Court.
Almost four years after Zukowski's murder, Hallbrooks last month took a plea deal for 40 years in prison. He could have faced up to 60 years if convicted at trial, and possibly more if the prosecution pursued charges related to the death of Zukowski's unborn child.
Joseph Parise described the pain of waiting for a verdict from the court. It's not like a cop show.
"I don't have an off and on switch for this. It's not over. It'll never be over. We're just trying to get to the next stages of grief, get to the trial and a conviction. And I have no idea when that's going to happen," he said.
To speak to a domestic violence advocate, call Safe Futures 24-hour support line at (860) 701-6001.
