Kamil Zielinski
ANSONIA – A three-judge panel found Kamil Zielinski not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect for the 2021 killing of his wife, Grace Zielinska, on Wednesday (Dec. 11).
Zielinski was moved to kill and mutilate his wife by delusions and voices that told him his children were in danger, a psychologist testified in court.
Zielinski will be placed under a period of psychiatric evaluation and kept in custody until Feb. 21. On Feb. 21, a court will decide how long to keep him in the custody of a state psychiatric facility.
At that point, the state Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB) will have custody over Zielinski. He could be kept and treated at one of several secure psychiatric facilities in the state.
“We’re hopeful the PSRB will be able to help him with his demons,” his attorney, David Thompson, said outside the courtroom.
Background
Ansonia Police Officer Peter Lovermi III was sent to 73 Root Ave. at about 1:40 p.m. Nov. 9 after Zielinski called and said his wife was dead.
“I killed my wife, please help her,” he said in a phone call that was played for the court.
Upon arrival, Lovermi heard crying from the first floor and knocked on a door that was already open, according to an arraignment report.
“A three-year-old boy ran from the kitchen to the door and stated ‘Come in, come in,’ and pointed toward the kitchen,” Lovermi reported.
In the kitchen Lovermi saw Zielinski covered in blood standing over his wife, who was sitting on the ground “covered in blood from a brutal assault,” Lovermi wrote.
Zielinski began to cry, saying “What have I done? Shoot me, just shoot me. I did it,” Lovermi wrote.
Lovermi saw a knife on the floor next to Grace Zielinska.
“I stabbed her in the chest, too,” Zielinski said.
An axe was found on the kitchen table, covered in blood.
A toddler was found sleeping in the living room. A third child was not home at the time.
Grace was declared dead at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Zielinski was charged with murder and two counts of risk of injury to a child.
His case appeared on the docket about 30 times prior to the start of his trial.
In September 2024 The Connecticut Post reported Zielinski was planning to present an insanity defense.
Murder Trial Testimony
A trial was held Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 before a panel of three judges – Stephanie A. Damiani, Shari A. Murphy, and David L. Zagaja – to determine whether Zielinski was criminally responsible for his actions.
Psychologist Dr. George Geysen, testifying for the defense, told the court that Zielinski had a long history of serious mental health issues, and that he was “in the throes of psychosis” when the murder was committed.
Geysen said Zielinski experienced delusions beginning from age 4 or 5, culminating in his first suicidal episode at age 17 – a common time for such episodes in people with severe mental health problems, Geysen said.
Geysen said he had diagnosed Zielinski with schizoaffective personality disorder. In the past, Zielinski had also been diagnosed with depression and multiple other personality disorders, Geysen said.
On Nov. 9, Zielinski had been at work with his brother when he began to believe that men were at his home to harm his children, Geysen testified. Zielinski left work and went home and experienced another delusion – a voice in his head telling him to mutilate his wife.
Zielinski had told Geysen that the voice wanted him to kill his wife because he had been “sloppy” in rituals meant to ward off the voices, Geysen said.
After attacking his wife with an axe and a knife, Zielinski called 911. He was taken into custody, while the two children at home were looked after by a police officer and an EMT.
While in custody, Zielinski briefly spoke with Detective Kristen Hunt. Hunt, in a body camera video shown to the court, asks Zielinski for the names of family members that the children could stay with. Zielinski sobs throughout the video.
“Is she dead?” he can be heard asking Hunt. “What’s wrong with me?”
Zielinski asks to be killed during the video and repeatedly says “he saw me do it,” in reference to his three-year-old son.
The prosecution asked Geysen whether Zielinski’s repeated, immediate admissions to the murder indicated he knew what he had done.
Geysen said Zielinski was in a “bizarre, strange and deluded” state of mind during the murder, and that he also made statements afterward indicating he didn’t know what he had done.
The prosecution was led by State’s Attorney Margaret E. Kelly.
Resources
Grace Zielinska was 34 years old at the time of her death. She was a mother of three.
Zielinska’s murder was one of many domestic violence deaths that have happened in the lower Naugatuck Valley.
There is help available by calling BHcare’s Umbrella Center for Domestic Violence at 203 – 736‑9944, 203 – 789‑8104 or 1 – 888 – 774‑2900. Statewide domestic violence assistance can be found at www.CTSafeConnect.org or call/text (888)774‑2900.
