ARIANA UBERTI - 7 yo -(2009) West Haven CT

In ruling to unseal court documents in the case of a West Haven man
accused of raping and killing a 7-year-old girl, a judge Tuesday said a
defendant’s right to a fair trial and the public’s right to information
are not necessarily competing interests.

Superior Court Judge
Eddie Rodriguez Jr. Tuesday denied a defense motion to keep sealed the
entire court file for John K. Billingslea, 32.

Rodriguez, at
Superior Court in Milford, said the public’s right to information
should be maintained unless there is an overriding competing interest.

Defense
attorney John Walkley had argued that such a competing interest did
exist in that Billingslea could face the death penalty if convicted of
the most serious charges. Disclosure of too much information before a
trial could taint the jury pool, Walkley argued.

But Rodriguez
said the case has already received publicity and it is impossible to
tell if the release of a small amount of additional information would
cause more harm to Billingslea.

Citing earlier court decisions,
he said that in some cases a defendant can benefit from having the
proceedings and information “open to neutral observers.”

The
newly disclosed documents help fill in missing details in the sequence
of events police said led up to the death of Ariana Uberti in her West
Haven home.

Billingslea, who lived with his girlfriend in the
basement apartment of the Uberti home, was in charge of watching Ariana
the night she died, April 25. Also in the home were Ariana’s 2-year-old
sister and a 3-year-old boy that is either the son of Billingslea or
his girlfriend, according to an affidavit filed in support of a search
and seizure warrant.

Billingslea was in charge of the children
for only a few hours while both women who live at the house were at
work. When Ariana’s mother returned to her East Avenue home at about
10:30 p.m., she thought everyone was asleep. Soon she learned that
Billingslea was not in the house and Ariana was nowhere to be found.
She called police to report her child missing, but soon after placing
the call found the 7-year-old face down in a bathtub, according the
affidavit.

The state medical examiner later ruled the child’s death from asphyxiation a homicide.

Police later learned Billingslea got a ride from a friend to Bridgeport sometime before Ariana’s mother came home.

In
the application for the search warrant, police said the child could
have been taken to the bathroom in an attempt to destroy evidence of a
sexual crime.

Police seized from the house numerous articles of
clothing that belonged to Ariana and Billingslea. Police have also
taken hair and DNA samples from Billingslea.

On April 26,
immediately following the death of Ariana, Billingslea was charged only
with three counts of risk of injury to a minor while police continued
their investigation.

On July 22, the state added two counts of
capital murder, one count alleging murder while committing a sexual
assault and the other count for allegedly killing a young child. He
also has been charged with two separate counts of first-degree sexual
assault, a felony murder count and one count of illegal sexual contact.

If
convicted of either capital murder charge, Billingslea could face the
death penalty. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the
death penalty.

Suspect must not contact victim’s family




Published: Friday, March 05, 2010



A Superior Court judge Thursday ordered a West Haven man, charged with rape and murder in connection with the death of a 7-year-old girl he was baby-sitting last year, not to contact the victim’s family, after the judge learned he sent a letter to the victim’s mother.

John K. Billingslea, 34, managed to send a letter to the victim’s mother from Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, where he is being held in lieu of $3 million bail.

Before his court date Thursday, there was no order preventing Billingslea from initiating contact with the family of Ariana Uberti, who was found dead in her East Avenue home in March 2009.

“I’m entering an order now,” Superior Court Judge Eddie Rodriguez Jr. told Billingslea in Superior Court in Milford. “Under no circumstances are you to engage in any contact with the family of the victim.”

Billingslea could face the death penalty if convicted of either of the capital murder charges he faces in connection with Ariana’s death. One capital statute applies to committing murder while committing a sexual assault, and the other applies to killing a young child.

John T. Walkley, who represents Billingslea with Edmund Q. Collier, said he has not seen the letter. Walkley did not object to the order prohibiting contact.

“It’s fine with me; I don’t want him writing letters to anyone,” Walkley said.

After the no-contact order was entered, Walkley said his investigation may be completed by Billingslea’s next court date, scheduled for April 26.

Billingslea, who lived in the basement apartment in the same building as Ariana’s family, was in charge of Ariana for only a few hours while his girlfriend and Ariana’s mother were at work, according to court documents.

Billingslea was charged only with risk of injury to a minor immediately following Ariana’s death. After his hair and DNA samples were collected, State’s Attorney Kevin D. Lawlor added the capital murder charges.

Lawlor has not said if he will seek the death penalty.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/05/news/metro/doc4b90b59c5a314851494679.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Defendant in possible West Haven death penalty case waives jury trial, chooses 3-judge panel; man accused of killing girl, 7


April 08, 2011

MILFORD — A potential death penalty case will head to trial in October, after a West Haven man accused of murder chose to be judged by a three-member judicial panel, his attorneys said Thursday.

John K. Billingslea, 34, waived his right to a jury trial Thursday in Superior Court, in an effort to keep “emotion” out of the court proceedings, his lawyers said.

Billingslea is accused of the rape and murder of 7-year-old Ariana Uberti, whom he was baby-sitting in March 2009. Ariana’s body was found in her home on East Avenue in West Haven.

John T. Walkley, who represents Billingslea along with Edmund Q. Collier, said no final offer was made by the state’s attorney’s office to settle Billingslea’s case. Collier said the state has charged his client with crimes that are eligible for the death penalty.

During a hearing Wednesday, Judge Richard Arnold cautioned Billingslea that by waiving his right to a jury trial, he was also doing the same for a potential penalty phase.

Arnold told Billingslea that once he waives his right to a jury trial, he cannot go back. “It’s waived forever,” Arnold told him.

Arnold also said that, unlike a jury, which must render a unanimous verdict, the three judges only need to render a majority decision. The panel of judges will be set by the chief court administrator in Hartford, and a trial is scheduled to start Oct. 4.

Walkley and Collier said they discussed with their client the merits of a jury versus a panel of judges.

“Based on the state’s suspected evidence, this was the best tactic,” Collier said. “Some of the allegations in this case are fairly shocking.”

“You just look at what the evidence is,” Walkley said. “If you have some technical legal issues, it’s better to go in front of a judge. You would want the normal emotions around in (jurors) not to cloud the legal issues. We want the decision to be based on the evidence, and not emotion.”

Billingslea could face the death penalty if convicted of either of the capital murder charges he faces in connection with Ariana’s death. One capital statute applies to committing murder while committing a sexual assault, and the other applies to killing a young child.

Collier said the use of a panel of three judges is rare and only applicable in death penalty cases.

Walkley said it’s possible a plea deal still could be made.

Billingslea, who lived in a basement apartment in the same building as Ariana’s family, was in charge of Ariana for only a few hours while his girlfriend and Ariana’s mother were at work, according to court documents.

Billingslea initially was charged with risk of injury to a minor, but after his hair and DNA samples were collected, State’s Attorney Kevin D. Lawlor added the capital murder charges.

Billingslea is being held in lieu of $3 million bail.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/04/08/news/metro/doc4d9e4d078250d361466415.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Babysitter sentenced to life in prison for killing 7-year-old


HADLEY, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A
man who admitted killing a 7-year-old Connecticut girl he was
baby-sitting was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without the
possibility of release, prosecutors said.

John Billingslea, 34, earlier this
month chose not to stand trial and pleaded guilty to two counts of
capital felony and murder in the March 2009 rape and asphyxiation death
of Ariana Uberti, Ansonia-Milford state's attorney Kevin Lawlor said.

Billingslea, who lived next door to the girl in West Haven, Connecticut, had been baby-sitting her while her mother was at work.

In Milford Superior Court, Judge
Richard Arnold sentenced Billingslea to life without the possibility of
release, plus a consecutive term of 60 years, Lawlor said.
http://news.yahoo.com/babysitter-sentenced-life-prison-killing-7-old-165250385.html