SEYMOUR – The man accused in connection to a fatal Seymour stabbing last year has requested a new attorney, saying that he is not satisfied with his current lawyer’s representation.
Christopher Stanley made his request at a court appearance in Milford Thursday (Jan. 15). Judge Kevin S. Russo asked Stanley’s current attorney, public defender Kenneth Bunker, to begin the process of finding a new public defender to represent Stanley.
Stanley, 34, was charged with murder and first-degree assault in January 2025. Police allege he stabbed 46-year-old Rhahzhem Turner to death.
According to court documents, police were called to a residence on Ajellos Farm Road in Seymour at around 11:40 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2025.
The caller, a woman, said she and Turner, her fiance, had been stabbed, and that the attacker was still in the home.
Police arrived and found Stanley in the kitchen, the report says, where the woman allegedly identified him as the attacker.
Upstairs, another officer found Turner lying on a hardwood floor. He had been stabbed in the chest and arm.
Turner, 46, was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, where he passed away from his injuries by 4:30 a.m. the next morning. Stanley denied stabbing Turner in a police interview, but an officer allegedly noticed what appeared to be bloodstains on Stanley’s sneakers.
Although the woman initially refused medical treatment, she was later taken to Griffin Hospital for a stab wound in her leg, according to an arraignment report written by Officer Brian Marino.
In his court appearance Thursday, Stanley asked for attorney Bunker to be removed from his case. Judge Russo declined to immediately do so, citing the seriousness of the charges against Stanley. Russo said Bunker will remain as his attorney until a new public defender is assigned.
Stanley’s next court date was assigned for March 5 at Superior Court in Milford, when an update on his representation is expected.