State v. Leniart

Citations

• 333 Conn. 88

Syllabus

The defendant, who was convicted of capital felony and murder following the disappearance of the victim, appealed from the judgment of conviction, claiming, inter alia, that certain evidentiary rulings substantially affected the jury's verdict and that there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction under the common-law corpus delicti rule. At trial, the state presented testimony from A, who had been serving a ten year sentence for a sexual assault involving another victim at the time of the defendant's trial. A testified that he and the defendant had sexually assaulted the victim, a fifteen year old girl, after the three had driven to a secluded wooded location in the defendant's truck. A testified that he last saw the victim in the defendant's truck and that, when he met the defendant the following day, the defendant, who was a lobster fisherman, had confessed to killing the victim, placing her remains in a lobster trap, and dropping the trap into a river. In order to impeach A's credibility, The listing of justices reflects their seniority status on this court as of the date of oral argument. 333 Conn. 88 SEPTEMBER, 2019 89 State v. Leniart the defendant sought to admit a video recording depicting a police officer interviewing A prior to the administration of a polygraph examina- tion. The defendant claimed that the video was relevant because it showed that A had been promised favorable treatment in exchange for his cooperation. The trial court, however, excluded the video on the ground that it constituted inadmissible polygraph evidence under State v. Porter (241 Conn. 57). The state also presented testimony from three individuals who previously had been incarcerated with the defendant. The first of those witnesses, B, testified that the defendant had admitted to choking an intoxicated young girl to death while having sex with her, dismembering her body, and disposing of it in lobster pots in Long Island Sound. The second of those witnesses, D, testifi