Report: 911 call caused confusion in homicide response

NORWALK — When Ellen Wink — fired as a city official after being charged with murder last week — called 911, she informed an emergency dispatcher that she got into a dispute with her tenant, according to a police report.

In a Norwalk police detective’s summary of the call, he said Wink was “rambling” about issues she had with the man and that “she has a gun and that her tenant came after her because she was cleaning up,” and stated, “I am so tired of this guy, he is on the floor,” and “the gun is empty.”

However, the dispatcher classified the call to responding officers as a “verbal” dispute and police did not realize a shooting had occurred and that the tenant, Kurt Lametta, was wounded until they arrived nearly 10 minutes later, according to incident reports and a recording of the emergency radio transmission.

“Dispatch informed responding officers the complainant, Ellen Wink, stated she was involved in a verbal argument with her tenant, Kurt Lametta. Dis“I patch stated the parties are separated and Wink stated she had a gun in the house that was not being used and empty,” Norwalk police officer Tiffany Ortiz, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene, wrote in her report.

In their reports, Ortiz and Officer Brian Barrett stated they arrived at the Nelson Avenue home around noon Thursday expecting to handle a verbal dispute between Wink and Lametta. Instead, the officers said they looked through a window and discovered Lametta lying in blood in the living room, according to their reports.

In the minutes that followed, Norwalk police requested additional help, including officers equipped with battering rams to help access the home, which was locked, according to the Broadcastify recording.

As Ortiz and Barrett waited for backup, they spotted Wink walking down the neighboring driveway, waving at them with a jacket in her right hand, according to the police reports.

“I’m Ellen. I called. My gun is empty,” Wink said, according to Ortiz’s report.

“What’s going on? Who had a gun?,” Ortiz asked, according to the report. did,” Wink replied, the report stated.

When Barrett asked if she used it, Wink said, “Yes, I did. Five times. I know I’m arrested,” the report stated.

As officers awaited help to gain entry to the home, a lock box was spotted outside and Wink provided the code so they could access the key, the police report stated. After entering through the side door, an officer checked for Lametta’s pulse, but found none, according to the report.

Wink, 61, who was fired Friday as the city’s deputy Republican registrar of voters, was charged with murder and remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bond. During Friday’s arraignment, the prosecutor said the killing stemmed from an ongoing feud and rent dispute between Wink and Lametta, 54.