Landlord Ellen Wink, 61, Charged With Murder For Allegedly Shooting Tenant Kurt Lametta
NORWALK, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - Police in Connecticut have arrested a city official for murder after a tenant-landlord dispute turned deadly.
As CBS2's Jessica Moore reports, remnants of violence remain inside 16 Nelson Ave., where police say 61-year-old landlord Ellen Wink gunned down her tenant, 54-year-old Kurt Lametta, late Thursday morning.
"I was so shocked," said Lametta's friend Rocco Palmeri. "I've known Kurt since I was a kid. He was just a humble guy. Just a great dude to be around. Always happy, just tell funny stories."
Lametta had rented the house for about two years from Wink, who is also Norwalk's deputy registrar of voters and former city clerk.
"I live three blocks down, and it's just crazy that somebody would be murdered in your neighborhood. And a 61-year-old woman with a gun?" said neighbor Jalna Jaeger.
"What do you think about the fact that she's a city official?" Moore asked.
"Well, there's plenty of crazy politicians," Jaeger said.
This wasn't the first time the landlord-tenant relationship got ugly, Moore reported. Police arrested Wink in September after she allegedly threw out all of Lametta's clothes, cash and jewelry, and locked him out of the house.
Neighbor Ron Kazi says Wink was trying to sell the house and wanted Lametta out, but he never thought she'd resort to violence as someone who used to run the assisted living house across the street.
"She was a lovely lady who came by on a regular basis," Kazi said. "I don't know what happened but it's sad whatever it was... it's a tragedy. Basically two lives are lost."
Lametta's friends say they're devastated but are determined to honor his memory by living their lives to the fullest, just like he did.
"Unfortunately, we have to mourn his loss, but at the same time, cherish the good times when he was here," Palmeri said.
Wink was arrested on the scene and later charged with murder. Her bond is set at $1 million.
She was arraigned Friday. Prosecutors called her a dangerous person who lets her anger guide her. She will be back in court in February.