Bridgeport woman accused of murder due in court
HARTFORD — A November day that began with two couples eating, drinking and having sex in a Hartford motel room ended with a man dead in what police say appears to be an accidental shooting.
A Bridgeport woman, Lisa Kittrell, faces charges in the death of Angel King, 32, of Hartford. After avoiding police, Kittrell, 39, eventually admitted she was responsible for King’s death, but that she pulled the trigger accidentally, according to the warrant for her arrest.
She was charged with second-degree manslaughter and illegal discharge of a firearm Feb. 1 and is due in state Superior Court in Hartford Wednesday, court records show. Kittrell, who posted $50,000 bail after her arrest, could not be reached for comment.
According to the arrest warrant, about 11:15 a.m. on Nov. 6, police got a call from the Travelers Inn Motel on Weston Street in Hartford’s North Meadows. A man was unconscious, bleeding from the head after a gunshot wound that may have been self-inflicted, the caller told the dispatcher.
Officers found a man later identified as King lying between the two twin beds. A gun — which turned out to be his — lay on the bed closest to the door. King was taken to Saint Francis Hospital, where it was determined his wound was not survivable, the warrant states. He was pronounced dead at 1:54 p.m., and medical examiners determined his death was a homicide, not a suicide, police said.
Motel staff said a man had come out of the room and told an employee someone was lying on the floor and there was “a substantial amount of blood” in the room, according to the warrant. As the man was speaking, the worker saw two women leave the same room. One was later identified as Kittrell; she had rented the room and returned the key to the front office before leaving, the warrant said.
Police looked at surveillance video from outside the motel and it showed four people going into the room early on the morning of Nov. 6. One “closely resembles” David “Freak” Ward, described in the warrant as an “associate” of King’s, and the second was King. One of the women was identified as Lisa Kittrell; the second woman was not identified, the warrant said.
A food delivery person came to the door at 3:07 a.m., and at 3:18 a.m., King is seen on opening up the motel room window, according to the warrant. Almost eight hours later, at 11:07 a.m. Kittrell leaves the room, followed by the unidentified woman and Ward.
“The unidentified female appeared to be in disbelief as she had her hand upon her forehead and her facial reaction was indicative of being in shock. Kittrell calmly lit a cigarette as David Ward donned a sweatshirt, reentered the room and then exited,” the warrant said. The three went back into the room and left with what looked like their personal belongings, the two women walking in a different direction than the man.
About a minute later, the video shows a female motel worker knock on the room’s door. After several attempts without a response, the female opened the door and immediately ran toward the main lobby to report her findings to the manager, police wrote in the warrant.
Suspect hangs up on police
Police called Kittrell, but when she learned they had questions about
King’s death, Kittrell hung up, investigators wrote in the warrant. Other attempts to reach her failed.
Investigators obtained a phone number for David Ward but were not able to reach him. He was last seen with King at a gender reveal party the evening before King’s death; the party was for King’s girlfriend, who was pregnant with King’s child, the warrant said. King left the gender reveal party with Ward, King’s family told police.
Police eventually found out the name of the unidentified woman and talked to her. She told them she had been having an online relationship with Ward but never met him in person until the weekend of Nov. 5 and 6. The woman, who police identified in the warrant as the “witness,” brought a friend from Bridgeport, Kittrell, and they got together with the men at the motel, according to the warrant.
They began drinking alcohol and then ordered food from McDonalds, the woman told police. After several hours, the four engaged in sexual relations, the witness with Ward and Kittrell with King, according to the warrant, with each couple in a separate bed.
In the morning, the four woke up and began gathering their belongings, she told police.
“The witness stated she focused her attention downward as she was placing her cellular phone into her bag when she heard a loud ‘pop.’” the warrant said, after which she saw King fall to the floor.
Kittrell, who was holding a black gun, immediately reacted, saying, “Oh [expletive], oh [expletive],” the warrant said. Ward cried out, “Why did you shoot my boy? Why the [expletive] did you shoot my boy?”
With help from Bridgeport police, the Hartford Police Department Fugitive Task Force caught up with Kittrell in Bridgeport on Jan. 6 and questioned her at the Bridgeport Police Department, the warrant said.
Kittrell, who told police she slept in a chair that night, said she was sitting on the bed King had slept in later in the morning and King was standing by the TV when he told her there was a gun under the pillow and asked her to get it. While she was confused as to why he would have brought a gun, Kittrell — who told police she had handled guns before — obliged, the warrant said.
“Kittrell stated that she had her arm extended (holding the firearm) and that her finger accidentally hit the trigger which caused the firearm to discharge,” according to the warrant.
While the sound of the gunshot frightened her, she told police she didn’t think King had been shot at first because she didn’t know there was a bullet in the chamber. When she realized what had happened, she told the others to call 911, but neither wanted to, the warrant said.
“Neither the witness nor David wanted to call 911, stating to Kittrell that they would go to jail for murder,” the warrant said.
After she returned the key, Kittrell left with the other woman, “never discussing what had transpired,” according to the warrant.
Hartford police Lt. Aaron Boisvert said police don’t expect to make more arrests.