Release of Conn. violent offenders eyed
Naugatuck felon on house arrest accused of killing his toddler 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-month-old 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 first-degree 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, seconddegree 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.