It was a quiet court date Tuesday for Tiffany Perry, the 26-year-old Ansonia resident charged with murder last month in the stabbing death of Jennifer Lewis in the city’s Olson Drive housing complex.
But in the hallway outside of Milford Superior Court’s Courtroom D, where the most serious cases are heard, Perry’s family was buzzing about, trying to quickly raise enough cash to hire a defense attorney.
Within minutes after Perry’s short appearance, the dozen family members had gathered several thousand dollars to make a first payment to attorney Richard Silverstein of New Haven.
After handing Silverstein a thick wad of money in the hallway, the family huddled around him for several minutes.
When approached for comment by a reporter, Silverstein handed back a reporter’s business card, saying “What do I need this for?”
Several of Perry’s family members and friends also declined to comment.
In the courtroom, a woman who said she was Perry’s grandmother, but declined to give her name, shook her had and said it was the first time she had ever been in a court room.
“I feel so bad for both of those young women,” she said.
Lewis’ family members did not appear to be in the courthouse Tuesday morning. Read about the first appearance, where a fight broke out between the two families, here.
Perry was arrested about 8:30 p.m. June 22 after a dispute with Lewis on a balcony of the 136 – 153 building in the Olson Drive housing complex.
When police arrived, they found Lewis lying on the floor with “at least one stab wound” to the chest, police said.
Lewis was pronounced dead at Griffin Hospital in Derby.
On the night of the fight there was a large Father’s Day cook-out going on at the housing complex, with children’s activities and horse-shoe games.
Police have not released any more details, including possible motive, about the incident, which they said is still under investigation. Perry’s court file offered no other details.
On Tuesday morning, Assistant State’s Attorney Charles Stango told Judge Eddie Rodriguez Jr. that his office is still gathering evidence in the case.
Perry appeared briefly in court, wearing the same hot pink “Little Bit Mischievous” shirt she wore on her first appearance June 22.
When Rodriguez asked her age, Perry spoke in a shaky voice, and was quickly escorted back outside the court room.
Perry’s case was continued until July 28.
