Valley Independent Sentinel

Shelton Stabbing Case Headed For Trial In April

by Caitlin Emma | Feb 1, 2012 10:29 pm

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Posted to: Shelton

The man accused of stabbing his sister in the throat in Shelton last October will tentatively face trial on April 18 in Milford Superior Court.

Toai Nguyen has not entered a plea yet, but he’s expected to pursue a defense at trial that he is not guilty by reason of insanity. He is being represented by public defender Kenneth Bunker.

In Superior Court in Milford Tuesday, Judge Arnold Richard set a trial date. Nguyen’s trial will likely be heard by Judge Maureen M. Keegan.

Nguyen did not appear in court on Tuesday, but was represented by his attorney.

Over the past several months, the state prosecutor’s office has been reviewing psychiatric reviews for Nguyen, including a substance abuse evaluation. The evaluations will likely become part of the record as testimony during the trial.

Nguyen, who has a history of mental illness, faces a felony charge of first-degree assault. He is accused of slashing his sister’s throat at their Maple Street apartment in October 2010. She managed to fight him off and run from the apartment, police said.

In 2008, Nguyen also beat his father with the Club, an anti-theft device used on car steering wheels. He served time in prison and was released in 2010.

Nguyen’s family has never appeared in court, but Lili Whitmer, a friend of the family, often appears at Nguyen’s hearings for support. She said her family and St. Timothy’s Church in Fairfield sponsored Nguyen’s family in 1989 as Vietnamese refugees.

“I’ve known him for two thirds of his life,” she said after the hearing Tuesday. “And he’s my friend, with big problems.”

“His family has been through a lot,” she added. “Especially in war-torn Vietnam.”

Whitmer said she’s impressed with the psychiatric attention he’s been receiving and she feels the court will take into account his history of severe mental illness.

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