Police search for man still at-large after daughter’s death
NAUGATUCK — A felon with a long criminal history remains at-large Monday after police say he dismembered his 11-month-old daughter in their home last week.
Naugatuck police have identified the child as Camilla Francisquini, who was found Friday in the family's Millville Avenue home.
The FBI is now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her father, Christopher Francisquini, who is wanted on an arrest warrant charging him with murder with special circumstances and risk of injury to a minor.
Christopher Francisquini and the mother of the child had an argument Friday in Waterbury, where he destroyed his cellphone and removed courtordered monitoring, Naugatuck police said. It's believed Camilla Francisquini had already been killed when the argument occurred, police said.
Based on the condition of the child's body, “we can clearly rule out this was an accident, this was an intentional act,” Naugatuck Police Chief Colin McCallister said Monday.
As to the possible motive for the crime, “that's a question we're all struggling with, who would do this, especially to their own child,” he said during a news conference at police headquarters.
Police have been searching for Francisquini, 31, since Naugatuck officers were called to the Millville Avenue home shortly after 11:30 a.m. Friday to investigate a death, officials said.
Francisquini fled the home in a gray 2006 Chevrolet Impala, which police said was found abandoned later Friday on Interstate 91 at Exit 8.
Police have also released security footage of the man they said matched Francisquini's description on Quinnipiac Avenue in New Haven around 4 p.m. Friday.
Police said the public should not approach Francisquini.
Francisquini was on parole after serving a 10-year sentence for a 2012 assault in Naugatuck, judicial records show.
After being released from prison last year, Francisquini was arrested again in November 2021 for a carjacking at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven, according to a police incident report.
While in custody on the carjacking charges, Francisquini assaulted correction officers while trying to escape from a detention facility the day after his arrest, according to an incident report.
Police said Francisquini was free on bonds totaling about $375,000 and monitored by a GPS device when the homicide occurred last week.
After the dispute in Waterbury, the girl's mother headed back to their home, the chief said. He declined to comment on whether she was the person who found the child and called 911.
McAllister described the killing “horrific and gruesome crime” and one of the most difficult and heartbreaking cases the department has encountered.
Francisquini has ties in Naugatuck, New Haven and Waterbury, McAllister said.
The chief warned that anyone who might be aiding Francisquini to avoid capture, “you are not safe.”