Web of Lies?

As cops investigate Connie Dabate’s violent death, they uncover secrets about her husband Richard’s double life—and charge him with murder

- Steve Helling

When police responded to a silent alarm in the upscale neighborhood of Ellington, Conn., on the morning of Dec. 23, 2015, homeowner Richard Dabate told them a chilling story of a suburban nightmare. He said he had struggled with a masked camouflage-clad intruder who subdued him by zip-tying him to a chair and stabbing him with a box cutter. Then, Dabate said, the 6'2" man chased his 39-year-old wife, Connie, into the basement and shot her in the stomach and head with a .357 magnum. As they began a frantic search for the gunman, police summoned canine units to track his scent. But the dogs were unable to locate the intruder, instead following Dabate to the ambulance where he was getting medical treatment for “superficial” wounds. “His story madenosense,”says a spokesman for the Connecticut State Police. “So we had to begin a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of it.”