Argued
September 17, 2019
Procedural
History
Substitute
information charging the defendant with the crimes of murder
and arson in the second degree, brought to the Superior Court
in the judicial district of New Haven and tried to the jury
before B. Fischer, J.; verdict and judgment of
guilty, from which the defendant appealed. Affirmed.
Matthew C. Eagan, assigned counsel, with whom were James P.
Sexton, assigned counsel, and, on the brief, Emily Graner
Sexton, assigned counsel, and Danielle J.B. Edwards, assigned
counsel, for the appellant (defendant).
Nancy
L. Chupak, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom,
on the brief, were Patrick Griffin, state's attorney, and
Seth Garbarsky, senior assistant state's attorney, for
the appellee (state).
Lavine, Prescott and Harper, Js.
OPINION
HARPER, J.
The
defendant, Benjamin Chase Carpenter, appeals from the
judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of
murder and arson in the second degree. The defendant claims
that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury,
as he requested, on third-party culpability. We disagree with
the defendant and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the
trial court.
The
jury reasonably could have found the following facts. Early
on the night of December 25, 2015, the defendant communicated
with Jennifer Antonier, the victim in this case, who was
seeking to obtain narcotics from the defendant on
‘‘credit.'' Later on that night, the
defendant reconnected with Antonier on the streets of his
neighborhood. Specifically, Antonier, accompanied by an
unidentified male, picked up the defendant in her Subaru
Impreza and had him sit in the front passenger seat. At that
time, Antonier was in the back seat of her car and the
unidentified male was in the driver's seat. Once the
defendant entered the car, the unidentified male began to
drive, at which point Antonier held a gun to the
defendant's head and demanded everything he had. After a
brief altercation in the vehicle, during which the defendant
admitted to punching Antonier, he was able to escape.
Later
that same night, the defendant made his way back to
Antonier's home located at 28 Lilac Avenue, Hamden (28
Lilac). Once he arrived, he punched Anton-ier in the face,
took a knife that he regularly carried on his person, cut
Antonier's throat two times, and severed her jugular
vein. To ensure that Antonier would bleed out, the defendant
then slashed her left arm with the knife, leaving a gaping
wound that led to her almost immediate death.
After
cutting Antonier, the defendant dragged her body up the
stairs to the second floor landing. He then left and
eventually returned with gasoline that he poured throughout
28 Lilac, including all over Antoni-er's body. Shortly
thereafter, the defendant set the house ablaze and departed,
taking Antonier's cell phone and car with
him.[1]
In the
early morning of December 26, 2015, the defendant connected
with his cousin, Jerome Dixon, at Poor John's Pub (Poor
John's). The defendant arrived at Poor John's by
driving Antonier's car. Dixon testified that the
defendant arrived with blood on his pants. While with Dixon,
the defendant asked if he knew the best location to get rid
of a car. Dixon confirmed that he did know of a place;
however, before showing the defendant the location, Dixon
elected to go purchase marijuana at a location away from Poor
John's.
After
Dixon completed his marijuana transaction, he drove back,
heading for Poor John's, when he realized that he was
being followed by the defendant. After pulling over and
having a brief conversation with the defendant, Dixon led the
defendant to Russell Street in New Haven, a location he felt
was a safe and dark place to abandon a car. Once they arrived
at Russell Street, Dixon remained in his car and waited for
the defendant. Through his rearview mirror, Dixon witnessed
the defendant exit the Subaru Impreza and wipe down the
steering wheel, door, and handle of Antonier's
car.[2]Then, Dixon saw the defendant reach back
into the Subaru as it lit up in flames, followed by the
defendant jumping into the passenger side of Dixon's car.
Several
hours later, in the afternoon of December 26, Dixon gave the
defendant a ride to work. Before exiting the vehicle, the
defendant asked Dixon to dispose of a bag containing the
clothes that he wore the previous night. Dixon subsequently
disposed of the bag at a gas station. A few days later, the
defendant and Dixon met up again at Poor John's, ...