Police investigating the murder of Eastern Connecticut State University student Alyssiah Wiley searched an Ansonia home over the weekend in connection with the probe.
According to city land records, the house, at 17 – 19 Hubbell Ave., is owned by Jermaine Richards, who police accused Saturday (May 18) of kidnapping and killing Wiley, his girlfriend.
Wiley had been missing for a month. Her family, friends and volunteers searched the Hubbell Avenue area May 14 and 15.
Wiley’s remains were discovered Friday (May 17) in a wooded area of Trumbull. Richards surrendered to police Saturday after learning they had obtained a warrant for his arrest.
Tax records in Ansonia City Hall show Richards purchased the two-family house on Hubbell Avenue for $100,000 last October.
No one answered the door there Monday (May 20). An envelope in the mailbox was addressed to Richards.
Readers reported a police presence at the home over the weekend on the Valley Indy’s Facebook page.
A neighbor said police had been at the home from 6 a.m. Saturday into Sunday. The neighbor said police searched inside the home and the rear yards of neighboring properties.
However, Ansonia Police Lt. Andrew Cota said Monday that Ansonia police were mostly holding the scene over the weekend until state police showed up. No evidence was taken from the home, Cota said.
“We were standing by up there because (state police) thought they were going to search a house,” Cota said Monday morning. “They ended up coming in Sunday morning, they did a quick scan of the area, and left.”
“They did come here and they checked the residence and they did not find anything and left,” Cota said.
Cota said the search was standard in such cases.
“They’ll go through any address they can find that might have any link to a person,” he said.
The lieutenant said Ansonia police are no longer involved in the case.
“The case is still essentially based out of Bridgeport,” Cota said. “We don’t have any scenes that we’re holding up here.”
Suspect Arraigned
Richards made his first court appearance Monday (May 20) at Superior Court in Bridgeport.
The Connecticut Post reported Wiley had been dismembered. Judicial marshals “struggled” to keep Wiley’s family and Richards’ family from clashing outside court, according to the Post.
The article continues after video from WTNH about Richards’ arraignment.
Richards’ case was transferred to the “part A” criminal docket, where more serious criminal cases are heard. He has the right to a probable cause hearing before he is formally charged with murder.
In an interview after court with the Valley Indy, Wiley’s mother, Corrinna Martin, condemned members of Richards’ family she accused of dishonoring her daughter’s memory in court.
“This whole ordeal has been horrific for Alyssiah’s family,” Martin said. “But to continue to put salt on the wounds that are so deep by disrespectful, blatant taunts at Alyssiah’s family, because you are too ignorant to control your emotions, is unacceptable.”
Family and friends last week searched Hubbell Avenue, which fronts Coe Pond, because they knew Richards owned the house there, Martin said.
She said her daughter’s memory will be vindicated in court.
“She loved God. God loved her,” Martin said of her daughter. “And we’re going to let God be God, let the police do their job, and let the judicial system work on her behalf.”
The Post reported a judge ordered Richards held in lieu of $1 million bond.
He is due back in court in June,
The Valley Indy left a message for Lt. J. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman, Monday, asking about the Ansonia search over the weekend.
An administrative assistant in Vance’s office called back and said only the case is “still under investigation.”
Richards is being represented by attorney John R. Gulash. Gulash confirmed that Richards owns the Ansonia home, but said he’s been a long-time Bridgeport resident.
