Region: Man pleads guilty in 2006 beating death of Anthony Hamlin

Victim was dumped in a field; defendant remained free until 2016

Nearly 12 years after fatally beating Anthony Hamlin and dumping his body in a Ledyard field, one of the two men state police said was responsible for his death pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence.

Christopher P. Vincenti, 33, stood before New London Superior Court Judge Hillary B. Strackbein in an orange prison jumpsuit and entered his plea. He will be sentenced Sept. 18.

Vincenti and his co-defendant, Timothy P. Johnson, who had attended East Lyme High School together, had lived free for 10 years after killing the 40-year-old Hamlin, a father of five and a member of the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, and leaving his naked body in a field off Shewville Road. Vincenti and Johnson were both 21 years old at the time.

State police questioned the two men after a witness came forward in 2016 to identify them as suspects. Both men eventually provided confessions. Vincenti, who has remained incarcerated since he was charged with felony murder in October 2016, was represented by attorneys Ronald F. Stevens and Christopher Morano. Seven members of his family attended the plea hearing Monday in New London Superior Court.

“He’s truly remorseful,” Stevens said in the hallway after the hearing. “He really feels relieved. It was very difficult for him living knowing what he had done. He knew he should be paying a penalty for what happened.”

Hamlin’s mother, Darlene Hamlin, who had suffered with the knowledge that her son’s killers were free, said she thinks the 20-year sentence is too lenient.

Johnson is expected to accept a similar plea agreement at a court appearance on Aug. 15.

“The 20 years is a drop in the hat to me,” she said after the court appearance. “I wanted at least 45 to 60 years. I wanted life. I know the Bible says we should be forgiving, but it also says an eye for an eye. I don’t think the 20 years is sufficient at all.”

Supported by two family members

“The 20 years is a drop in the hat to me. I wanted at least 45 to 60 years. I wanted life. I know the Bible says we should be forgiving, but it also says an eye for an eye. I don’t think the 20 years is sufficient at all.” DARLENE HAMLIN VICTIM’S MOTHER

and Victim Advocate Beth Ann Hess at Monday’s court hearing, she broke down as soon as prosecutor David J. Smith began reciting the details of her son’s death. She and other family members are expected to speak at the sentencing.

Hamlin was preparing to take the 11 p.m. train to Virginia, where he was about to start a new job, when a female friend dropped him off in downtown New London at 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 27, 2006, and gave him $140, according to court documents and family interviews.

Instead, he agreed to go to a strip club with Johnson and Vincenti, whom he met on the sidewalk outside an unidentified Bank Street bar. All three men had been drinking.

Johnson told state police he and Vincenti met Hamlin after coming out of the bar. The three men started talking and decided to go to a strip club in Groton. They drove in a gray Ford Ranger pickup truck, registered to Vincenti’s father and later to Vincenti. They got lost and had stopped in Ledyard field to urinate when Johnson decided to rob Hamlin so that he could buy drugs.

Johnson told his plan to Vincenti, who grabbed a piece of wood from inside the cab of the pickup. Johnson said the wood was about a foot long and rounded, like a rod in a coat closet. As they were all standing in the field, Johnson said he tried to punch Hamlin, but ended up falling on the ground. Hamlin was just standing there, Johnson said, and he said, “Help,” to Vincenti.

Vincenti hit Hamlin in the head about three times with the wood, Johnson said. Hamlin, who looked shocked, fell to the ground after the first strike. Johnson said he got up and helped Vincenti, “because he had helped me.” Johnson said he punched Hamlin with a closed fist on the side of his face and kicked him in the crotch.

Hamlin, who was not moving and was bleeding from the head and face, had no pulse, according to Johnson. He said he removed Hamlin’s clothes and sneakers.

The men left Hamlin’s body in the field and returned to Johnson’s home in Lebanon. Johnson said they found $100 in Hamlin’s wallet and drove in a different car to New London, where they bought pills. Johnson said that he was addicted to opioid painkillers at the time.