Man gets 65 years for fatal stabbing of former partner

Judge had issued protective order before 2018 slaying

A man has been sentenced to 65 years in prison for fatally stabbing his former intimate partner in 2018 after a judge had issued a protective order to keep the victim safe.

Christopher Petteway, 47, faced sentencing Tuesday in New London Superior Court in connection with the killing of 63-yearold Robert Parise on Oct. 4, 2018, officials from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice said Friday.

The sentence comes after Petteway was convicted of murder and violation of a standing criminal protective order following a fiveday trial in April. He had previously rejected a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for 35 years.

According to judicial officials, Petteway stabbed Parise multiple times in a New London home the two had previously shared. The incident occurred after Petteway traveled to the home from Bridgeport and confronted the victim.

According to the Associated Press, Petteway used a key to get into the home and later admitted to police he stabbed Parise multiple times, saying “I hope he dies” and “I got him as many times as I could.”

The killing came months after Petteway was sentenced to 30 days in jail in June 2018 after pleading guilty to charges of second-degree threatening and disorderly conduct, court records show. Those charges stem from a domestic violence incident with Parise, according to the AP.

Petteway had threatened to kill Parise once he was released from jail, an AP report indicates.

The standing criminal protective order issued in the previous case initially barred Petteway from living with Parise after his release from jail, though this order was later modified in August 2018, at the request of Petteway, to only forbid him from having any firearms or ammunition and not to “assault, threaten, abuse, harass, follow, interfere with or stalk” Parise, according to the AP.