Antoinette Bruce's Accused Murderer to Remain Held Without Bail

The 24-year-old Connecticut man charged in connection with will continue to be held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institution (ACI) in Cranston.

Zachary J. Lepelusa, of Milford, CT, waived his right to a bail hearing when he appeared in Newport's Second District Court Tuesday, his first court appearance since his arraignment and following his arrest on March 29.

Lepelusa appeared before Second Division District Court Judge William C. Clifton on Tuesday in a beige dress shirt and dark navy blue pants. Represented by court-appointed attorney Robert J. Caron, of Providence, Lepelusa did not speak or address the court during the proceedings as his attorney waived his right to the bail hearing scheduled for that day and Judge Clifton ordered that he continue to be held at the ACI pending the ongoing investigation and court proceedings.

Middletown police have charged Lepelusa with one felony count of murder and one felony count of kidnapping, both in connection with the stabbing death of Bruce, 35, an East Haven, CT, resident and supervisor who was in Middletown working for two weeks on a local store project when she was killed. Lepelusa has not yet entered pleas for either charge. Middletown police have also filed two additional charges against Lepelusa: one misdemeanor count of eluding police and another of resisting arrest. To those he previously pleaded not guilty at his March 30 arraignment.

The case continues to be investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office, according to Middletown police.

Middletown police allege that on Tuesday night around 4:37 p.m., Lepelusa stabbed Bruce multiple times in the parking lot outside the on West Main Road, forced her into her own car, then drove six miles across town where he left her body in a ditch alongside Hanging Rocks Road. He was later after attempting to run from a police detective in the rear yard of a randomly selected private residence at 464 Third Beach Road.

Bruce and Lepelusa previously worked together in Connecticut at a Christmas Tree Shops store, but further details about their interactions in and out of work remained under investigation, according to Middletown police. Lepelusa no longer works for the company and Bruce, who was married, was in Middletown for two weeks to assist in a temporary retail reconfiguration project at the local Christmas Tree Shops store on East Main Road.

It was not known how long Lepelusa was in Middletown before his final meeting with Bruce, but the first-degree murder charge alleges that Lepelusa had intended, or premeditated, the attack on Bruce when he met with her in the hotel parking lot and stabbed her to death.