Judge Says Murder Suspect Was Coerced By Middletown Police, Strikes Recorded Statement

Yesterday, Superior Court Judge Stephen Nugent struck murder suspect Zachary Lapelusa's recorded statement, citing that State Trooper Joseph DuBeau and Middletown Detective Richard Gamache coerced him into talking after he invoked his right to remain silent, according to the Providence Journal.

Zachary Lapelusa of Milford, Conn., was charged with stabbing Antoinette Bruce in March of last year.  Her body was found in the water off Hanging Rock Road.

The judge would not exclude statements Lapelusa made to police before he was read his rights, because he said police believed the victim could had been alive, and they acted out of urgency, rather than coercion.

The judge also determined that a state prosecutor did not deliberately omit  information from a judge, in order to secure a warrant to take a DNA sample.

Nugent had ordered the hearing at the request of Lapelusa's attorneys.