Release of violent offenders in Conn. under review after Naugatuck felon accused of killing his child
Despite a criminal history fraught with violence and income low enough to be eligible for a public defender, a Naugatuck man was free after posting $375,000 bond and was able to live with his 11-monthold daughter who police say he killed last week.
Christopher Francisquini, 31, remained at-large Friday — one week after Naugatuck police say he strangled, stabbed and dismembered his daughter, Camilla, in their Millville Avenue home where he was on house arrest and monitored by a GPS tracking device. Police said after killing his daughter, Francisquini removed the tracker, and despite being spotted a few times in New Haven, has managed to evade capture.
Connecticut's Child Advocate Sarah Eagan said her office “is reviewing aspects of this terrible tragedy and will seek information to fully understand the monitoring and supervision of the alleged perpetrator.”
The Office of the Child Advocate will also investigate how public safety organizations in general determine the risks and conditions related to the release of an individual who has a violent felony history and who may share a household with young children.
“This is not to say that folks who are convicted of a violent crime and released will pose a risk to a child,” she said. “But rather to say that conditions of release, probation, or parole should reflect an assessment of risk and need that is based not only on the characteristics and profile of the individual released but also on the stressors and characteristics of the household. Ongoing monitoring of the individual will also need to track the findings and recommendations from the risk and need assessments.”
Francisquini was released from custody in December 2020 after spending most of the previous decade behind bars for an assault that put a man in the hospital for several days. Almost a year later, Francisquini racked up multiple charges in connection with a carjacking on Nov. 4, 2021 and assaulting correction officers while trying to escape from a detention facility the next day, court documents show.
On the day of the carjacking, Francisquini tried to steal four vehicles before he was detained, court documents stated. While in custody, Francisquini grabbed an officer's pepper spray in lockup, sprayed two police sergeants in the face, fought with a lieutenant and attempted to break out of the holding area, the incident report shows.
The series of events violated Francisquini's parole and he was sent back to prison to complete his original 10-year sentence for the 2012 assault. Once the sentence was completed, Francisquini was released this past June after posting a total $375,000 bond for his pending cases in connection with the carjacking and escape attempt, court documents stated.
He had since been on special parole, and officials with the state Department of Correction said Francisquini had been compliant.
Francisquini, who is being represented by public defenders in the pending cases, was living with his daughter in a Millville Avenue home when she was killed on Nov. 18, police said. According to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the child died from neck compression and stab wounds.
Local, state and federal authorities have since been searching for Francisquini and have obtained an arrest warrant for him in his daughter's homicide.
Francisquini’s criminal history
In a news conference on Nov. 18, Naugatuck Police Chief C. Colin McAllister said Francisquini “has an extensive criminal history of violent acts and violent crimes.”
According to court records, Francisquini's first conviction stems from June 18, 2012, when the Naugatuck Police Department charged him with firstdegree assault. Previous reports stated a 21-year-old Francisquini attacked another man at a barbershop, putting him in the intensive care unit after an alleged drug deal turned into a robbery. The victim spent several days in the ICU, undergoing surgery to his head and face, police said.
Naugatuck police also charged Francisquini with possession with intent to sell or dispense and interfering with or resisting an officer on June 21, 2012, according to court records. Documents pertaining to these charges were not available when Hearst Connecticut Media Group requested them this week.
He was found guilty of all the charges on April 26, 2013, and sentenced to 10 years in custody followed by 10 years of special parole, court records show.
Francisquini was released to a halfway house in November 2020 and then to supervised parole one month later, according to the state Department of Correction.
He was then involved in a car crash in New Haven on Nov. 3, 2021, and was later found guilty of interfering with an officer, court records show.
The next day, he was accused of a carjacking and three attempted thefts in West Haven and Derby. While in custody, he tried to escape on the morning of Nov. 5, 2021, court records show. His bonds totaled $225,000 for these cases, which are still pending in state Superior Court in Derby and in Milford. He has not entered a plea in these cases.
State police also charged Francisquini on Nov. 5, 2021, with third-degree assault, second-degree breach of peace, failure to comply with fingerprint requirements and assaulting public safety, emergency medical, public transit or health care personnel. The bonds totaled $150,100 for these cases, which are still pending in state Superior Court in Bridgeport. He has not entered a plea in these cases.
Incident reports and further information regarding the four state police charges from Nov. 5, 2021, were also not available this week. Hearst Connecticut Media has requested these documents, though the state police records division said Wednesday the reports may take months to become available.
The November 2021 charges violated Francisquini's parole and he was remanded back to prison to finish the remaining seven months for the assault conviction while in pretrial proceedings for the pending cases.
After he completed the 10-year prison sentence on June 20, 2022, Francisquini remained in custody for the pending cases until he posted bond on June 27, according to court and Department of Correction records.
Naugatuck police said they have obtained an arrest warrant charging Francisquini with murder with special circumstances and risk of injury to a minor in his daughter's homicide. Once captured, he will be held on a $5 million bond.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Francisquini.
Almost a year after release, a car crash
Just before 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2021, a state trooper was called to the Interstate 95 southbound off-ramp for Exit 47 in New Haven for a report of a crash. At the scene, the trooper saw a 2012 Ford Escape stopped in the right shoulder “with crushing and disabling damage to the front end,” according to the incident report.
Police found two people on the right shoulder — the driver, later identified as Francisquini, and a passenger. Francisquini was laying on his back when his body began to convulse, and he was “unresponsive to verbal or physical contact,” the incident report said.
When Francisquini's eyes opened, he immediately jumped to his feet, balled his hands into fists, took a fighting stance and began to yell for first responders to get away from him, according to the incident report.
Francisquini then tried to lunge toward his passenger, and troopers put him in handcuffs. He was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital with minor injuries.
In May 2022, state police charged Francisquini with failure to drive in the proper lane, illegal operation of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance and interfering with or resisting an officer. He pleaded guilty in August to the interfering charge. He received a sentence of unconditional discharge, meaning for this case, he was released without imprisonment, probation supervision or other conditions.
‘Get out of the car or I will kill you’
On Nov. 4, 2021, West Haven police said a Veterans Affairs Hospital employee said he was at home and warming up his 2018 Ford Escape when he was approached by a man in hospital scrubs. Police later identified the man as Francisquini. When the vehicle owner asked Francisquini if he was also a hospital employee, Francisquini nodded yes and the vehicle owner offered him a ride, the incident report said.
The vehicle owner said when they arrived at the hospital, Francisquini got out of the car. While the vehicle owner was on the phone, Francisquini came up to the driver's window, and said, “get out of the car or I will kill you,” the incident report stated. The man told police he got out of the vehicle and Francisquini got in and drove off toward West Spring Street, the report stated.
The vehicle was later found on Beechlawn Terrace in Orange, where a witness described a man matching the suspected car thief walking toward Derby Avenue, according to the incident report.
Francisquini then got into the back seat of an occupied car outside a nearby gym, the incident report stated. Francisquini told the woman to drive, but she refused and he later told police he thought she was an Uber driver, according to the report.
Francisquini then went inside the gym, purchased a sweatshirt and asked for a day pass. Employees told police that after Francisquini left, they saw him try to open the driver's side door of a van parked out front, according to the incident report.
While police searched the area, a woman told an officer the suspect had tried to get into her car while she was in a Wendy's drivethru, the incident report said.
Police later apprehended Francisquini at a farm in Derby, according to the incident reports.
The West Haven Police Department charged Francisquini that day with robbery involving an occupied motor vehicle, first-degree larceny, and interfering with a police officer. He has not entered a plea to those charges, and that case remains pending in state Superior Court in Milford, records show. Records indicate Francisquini was freed on $100,000 bond in that arrest.
Francisquini was charged in March with the remaining attempted car thefts from Derby. The Derby Police Department charged him with third-degree burglary, attempt to commit first-degree larceny, three counts of attempt to commit third-degree larceny, attempt to commit thirddegree burglary and two counts of second-degree breach of peace, according to court records. He has not entered a plea to those charges and the case is pending in state Superior Court in Derby. He was released from custody on a $25,000 bond for those charges.
An attempted escape
Shortly before 1 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2021, the morning after Francisquini's arrest in the carjacking case, an officer at the West Haven Police Department detention center noticed water leaking from a clogged toilet in the man's cell, an incident report stated.
A few officers went to help with Francisquini, “who then attempted to tie a piece of cloth around his neck,” Officer Brianna Paz, the investigating officer, wrote in her report. Paz then pointed her pepper spray at Francisquini and order him away from the cell door. The officer wrote that Francisquini “did not care” and continued leaning against the door. She returned the spray to her holster, believing it to be secure, according to the report.
Paz and two police sergeants then opened the door and began moving Francisquini to a different cell, according to the report. As he was walking, Paz stated in the report that Francisquini turned and pushed her to grab her pepper spray, which he then sprayed at her and the two sergeants.
As Paz requested assistance, Francisquini began to physically fight with a police lieutenant, her report said. He then attempted to run out of the detention center as police opened the door to let in an additional officer, the report stated. He ran directly into that officer, and multiple officers apprehended him, according to the report.
Francisquini was charged with two counts of seconddegree assault, three counts of assault on a public safety officer, attempted criminal escape from custody, refusal to fingerprint and thirddegree robbery, according to the report. Court records show the charges from the incident in police lockup are pending in state Superior Court in Milford. Francisquini has not entered a plea to the charges and he was released on $100,000 bond in that case, court records show.