CT Republican Elections Official Charged With Murder

The Hartford Courant reports:

A Norwalk city official faces a murder charge after she fatally shot her neighbor Thursday, police said. Ellen Wink, 61, of 18 Nelson Ave., was arrested at the scene and remained in custody early today on $1 million bail, they said.

Police identified the victim as Kurt Lametta, 54, of 16 Nelson Ave. — the house where the homicide took place, which is owned by Wink. Wink is a familiar face in city hall, where she is a deputy registrar of voters. She is active politically as well and has run for state representative.

This isn’t her first arrest. Norwalk Sgt. Sofia Gulino said Wink was arrested Sept. 18 after she threw out a tenant’s personal items and locked him out of his home. The man told police Wink was upset that he was nearly a month behind on rent.

The New York Times reports:

Property records show that the official, Ellen Wink, owns the house where the dead man was found. In a news release, the police said Mr. Lametta “had sustained multiple gunshot wounds” when officers responding to the disturbance call found him at the house on Nelson Avenue shortly before noon.

Ms. Wink was at the house, and she was immediately detained, the police said. About an hour later, she was arrested and charged with murder, the police said. She lives in the house next door, which she also owns, according to the police and property records.

The Daily Beast reports:

A friend of Lametta’s, Joey DiMeglio, told News12 he believed the dispute was over an eviction. “He wasn’t leaving, she wanted him out of there and this is the end result,” he said. (The police report says Wink was attempting to sell the building.)

Wink has posted multiple pro-police messages on Facebook in the past, including one she shared just one day before the shooting, which reads: “The current cry is hold police accountable. I truly believe police would do a far better job if COURTS would hold CRIMINALS accountable.”