Husband sentenced in deadly machete attack

A Waterbury man has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for attacking his wife with a machete in 2022 before she died outside of their Waterbury home where the couple’s two young children were found hiding.

Ainsley Panton, 30, faced sentencing Thursday in Waterbury Superior Court where a judge imposed a 33-year prison term, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice.

Panton in October accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of murder in the April 26, 2022 killing of 24-year-old Moesha Watson Panton, according to judicial officials.

“The defendant viciously slaughtered his wife, inflicting horrific injuries as she attempted to flee for her life,” Waterbury State’s Attorney Maureen T. Platt said in a statement Friday. “While nothing will bring her back or end the suffering of her family and friends, it is my hope that the knowledge that this admitted killer will no longer be able to harm others will provide some solace.”

According to criminal justice officials, Ainsley Panton attacked his wife with a machete inside their Willow Street home while the couple’s two children, ages 3 and 5, were present. Officers responding to the area on the report of an assault found Moesha Watson Panton outside the residence where witnesses said she collapsed, judicial officials said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The children were found by police hiding in the home, according to officials. They were initially taken to Waterbury Hospital for an evaluation before being turned over to the custody of the state Department of Children and Families, according to Courant archives.