Manslaughter suspect called ‘loving’
Lawyer: Man accused of aiding wife’s suicide holding himself accountable
MIDDLETOWN — A 65-yearold Westbrook charged with manslaughter for allegedly helping his terminally ill wife commit suicide is free on bond following an appearance at Superior Court Friday.
Kevin G. Conners of Break Neck Hill Road, a retired state corrections officer, was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the Sept. 6, 2018, death of his 61-year-old wife by a gunshot wound to the head.
He was described outside the court by his lawyer Raymond Rigat of Clinton as a “kind, compassionate, loving” father, grandfather and husband.
Rigat noted Kevin Conners’ wife, Loretta “Lori” Conners, was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year and “was suffering horribly and was in considerable pain.”
Conners entered the courtroom with his attorney Friday afternoon dressed in a dark suit. He briefly appeared before the judge.
Outside, Rigat spoke to the press for less than five minutes as Conners, a thin, tall man, stood by silently. His attorney declined to speak further or allow Conners to answer reporters’ questions.
Rigat said Conners is “holding himself accountable for his actions,” adding he and his client are confident that justice will prevail, so Conners and his family can “move on in life.”
Connecticut State Police and Central District Major Crime Squad at Troop F in Westbrook investigated the case.
During questioning, Conners initially told officers his wife committed suicide, though he later said he agreed to hold and stabilize the gun for his wife, but was “adamant he did not pull the trigger,” the arrest warrant affidavit for the case said. He told police she shot the gun, and he “paced back and forth until Lori died,” according to the warrant.
Conners “loved his wife very much, and couldn’t watch her suffer like she was,” the arrest warrant affidavit said.
The couple are devout Christians, Conners told police.
The couple had done research on suicide methods, and Loretta Conners had told her husband she no longer wanted to live, he told police, the warrant said. She told her husband and children she “wanted to be with God,” which police confirmed with the children, the warrant said.
Conners told police his wife was diagnosed with cancer in March 2018, which had spread to her colon, liver, abdomen and back, and had been battling Lyme disease for 17 years, adding chemotherapy treatments were “making her very sick and not wanting to live.”
He told police his wife was “constantly writing (suicide) goodbye letters to him and their four children,” the warrant said, and that she was in constant pain.
Conners is set to reappear in court July 2 at 9 a.m. He remains free on a $50,000 bond.