The Kurt Lametta case ended with two verdicts against former Norwalk city official Ellen Wink: a June 2025 criminal conviction for murdering her tenant, which produced a 50-year prison sentence, and a June 2026 civil verdict finding her negligent in his death and awarding his estate $1,005,000. Wink shot Lametta five times inside the Nelson Avenue home she rented to him on January 20, 2022, after a long dispute over unpaid rent and her inability to evict him during the COVID-era moratorium.
Who Kurt Lametta Was
Kurt Matthew Lametta was 54 years old and lived in Norwalk, Connecticut. Known as “Puff,” he worked as a driver and laborer for construction companies and was survived by three siblings, Kenneth, Keith, and Kathleen, along with several nieces and nephews.1Legacy.com. Kurt Lametta Obituary Ellen Wink, his landlord, had worked in the Norwalk mayor’s office and most recently held the position of Republican deputy registrar of voters. She was fired the day after the shooting.2WTNH. Former Norwalk City Official Sentenced to 50 Years for Murdering Tenant
The Dispute Behind the Shooting
Lametta stopped paying rent around September 2020, and the relationship with Wink, who owned 16 Nelson Avenue and lived next door at number 18, deteriorated into what sources described as a “long and contentious” conflict.3The Hour. Norwalk Ellen Wink Civil Trial Kurt Lametta Wink wanted to evict him and sell the property, but Connecticut’s COVID eviction moratorium, established through executive orders by Governor Ned Lamont beginning in April 2020, restricted new eviction filings until the restrictions were largely lifted in July 2021.4Connecticut Bar Association. Housing Matters
Police were called to the Nelson Avenue address five times in the months before the killing.5News 12 Connecticut. The Trial of Ellen Wink In September 2021, Wink was arrested after she locked Lametta out of the home and dumped his belongings at a city landfill. Officers warned her to follow proper eviction procedures and to stay away from him.6ABC7 New York. Ellen Wink Kurt Lametta Norwalk Landlord Kills Tenant She continued to enter the home anyway, saying later that she was cleaning up food wrappers and other messes.7The Hour. Norwalk Ellen Wink Negligent Lawsuit Verdict
The Shooting
On January 20, 2022, Wink entered 16 Nelson Avenue saying she planned to clean out the refrigerator before listing the home for sale.3The Hour. Norwalk Ellen Wink Civil Trial Kurt Lametta Lametta began recording the encounter on his cellphone. “That’s ridiculous. Every day you’re going to come in and throw people’s stuff away?” he can be heard asking. “Do you have the right to come in touch everyone’s stuff?”8News 12 Connecticut. Jury in Ellen Wink’s Murder Trial Sees Cellphone Video Secretly Recorded By Victim
Two gunshots follow. Wink shouts, “You, bastard!” and fires three more times. Lametta drops the phone as he falls, and it keeps recording. Wink is heard yelling obscenities and, “Get out!” She picks up the phone, walks out, and tosses it into a shrub.8News 12 Connecticut. Jury in Ellen Wink’s Murder Trial Sees Cellphone Video Secretly Recorded By Victim Lametta was shot five times, twice in the back, and pronounced dead at the scene.9News 12 Connecticut. Jury Convicts Former Norwalk Official Ellen Wink of Murder
Wink called 911, telling the dispatcher Lametta had “come after her.” Officers arrested her at the scene, and she said, “I know I’m arrested,” adding, “He’s been my tenant and [expletive] driving me nuts.”6ABC7 New York. Ellen Wink Kurt Lametta Norwalk Landlord Kills Tenant Bond was initially set at $1 million and raised to $2.5 million by Judge Gary White after investigators recovered the cellphone recording from the bushes.5News 12 Connecticut. The Trial of Ellen Wink
The Murder Trial
Wink was tried at Stamford Superior Court in June 2025 on two charges: murder under Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a(a) and criminal lockout under § 53a-214, the second stemming from the September 2021 incident when she changed the locks and discarded Lametta’s belongings.10Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. State’s Attorneys Stamford and Norwalk Press Release
The Prosecution’s Case
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning and Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret Moscati built the state’s case around Lametta’s recording, which showed Wink advancing toward him and firing five shots. The state introduced evidence that Wink had run roughly two dozen internet searches about guns and hollow-point ammunition in January 2022, including an article titled “Bang: 5 Most Deadly Bullets on the Planet” about ten days before the killing.11Law & Crime. Election Official Killed Her Tenant After Searching for Information About Guns and Hollow Point Ammunition Security video after the shooting showed Wink calmly checking her mail and taking out the trash while she waited for police.12The Hour. Norwalk Ellen Wink Murder Trial Defense
Manning told jurors the shooting was the endpoint of a months-long campaign to force Lametta out, pointing to 86 text messages Wink had sent him and prior tactics such as turning off utilities. “This is the moment she’s been waiting for for three months,” Manning said.13The Hour. Norwalk Ellen Wink Murder Trial Lametta
The Defense’s Case
Attorney Stephan Seeger argued self-defense and extreme emotional disturbance. Clinical psychologist Dr. Jessica Pearson testified that Wink suffered from adjustment disorder and had been consumed by anxiety, fear, anger, and hopelessness over her inability to evict Lametta, who stood roughly six feet tall and weighed more than 360 pounds. Pearson said Wink believed he had a weapon during the final encounter.12The Hour. Norwalk Ellen Wink Murder Trial Defense14News 12 Connecticut. Psychologist’s Testimony Ellen Wink Feared Kurt Lametta The defense also played an audio recording, offered by former tenant Ian Roth, in which Lametta allegedly threatened to “straighten [Wink’s] ass out.”
Prosecution Rebuttal
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Catherine Lewis testified in rebuttal that Wink was “in control” during the shooting and that the confrontation on Lametta’s phone was not unusually heated compared to prior interactions. Lewis described many of Wink’s text messages to Lametta as “really quite cruel” and noted that Wink often initiated contact. “If someone is terrified of someone, that would be unusual behavior,” Lewis said.15News 12 Connecticut. Ellen Wink’s Murder Trial: What the Jury Saw and Heard Lewis pointed to Wink’s post-shooting statements, “Get out! Get out! Get out! Do you think I’m effing with you?!” as evidence that contradicted any fear-based defense.16News 12 Connecticut. Defense in Ellen Wink’s Murder Trial Rests
Verdict and 50-Year Sentence
On June 20, 2025, a jury of seven women and five men convicted Wink of both murder and criminal lockout, rejecting the self-defense and extreme emotional disturbance claims.9News 12 Connecticut. Jury Convicts Former Norwalk Official Ellen Wink of Murder10Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. State’s Attorneys Stamford and Norwalk Press Release17News 12 Connecticut. Former Norwalk Official Sentenced to 50 Years for Killing Tenant She is incarcerated at York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Connecticut.18New Haven Register. Norwalk Ellen Wink Civil Trial Kurt Lametta
The Civil Wrongful Death Verdict
Lametta’s estate, administered by his brother Keith, brought a personal injury and wrongful death suit against Wink. Trial began at Bridgeport Superior Courthouse in June 2026, with jury selection on June 4 and testimony starting June 16. Judge Charles P. Reed admitted Lametta’s cellphone recording over the objection of Wink’s civil attorney, Deborah V. Jekot, ruling it was “directly probative” of whether Wink acted in self-defense.19The Hour. Ellen Wink Civil Trial Kurt Lametta Norwalk Murder
Wink testified again to self-defense, saying she felt intimidated by Lametta’s size, that he elbowed her in the chest, and that she believed she was in “imminent danger.”20New Haven Register. Norwalk Ellen Wink Negligent Lawsuit Verdict Estate attorney Cassandra Hardy pressed her on the 911 call, in which Wink never mentioned that she had shot Lametta, never said he was bleeding on the floor, and never requested an ambulance.21The Hour. Ellen Wink Civil Trial Kurt Lametta Norwalk Murder
On June 25, 2026, the jury found Wink negligent, rejected her self-defense claim, and awarded the estate $1,005,000, divided into three equal categories:
- $335,000 for destruction of capacity to carry on and enjoy life’s activities
- $335,000 for death
- $335,000 for pain and suffering7The Hour. Norwalk Ellen Wink Negligent Lawsuit Verdict20New Haven Register. Norwalk Ellen Wink Negligent Lawsuit Verdict
Appeal Status
Wink is appealing her criminal conviction and has filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the verdict. The specific legal arguments in those filings have not been publicly detailed.22CT Insider. CT Court Cases to Watch She remains at York Correctional Institution serving her 50-year sentence.18New Haven Register. Norwalk Ellen Wink Civil Trial Kurt Lametta