David Messenger killed his wife, Heather, in their Windham County home in 1998 and was charged with murder. Three years later, he was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect. And then he inherited more than $420,000 from his late wife’s estate. The victim’s other family members received nothing. The couple’s son received nothing.
For years, Heather Messenger’s family tried unsuccessfully to convince lawmakers to fix what they called a loophole in Connecticut’s so-called slayer statute, which prevents anyone convicted of murder or first-degree manslaughter from inheriting money or property from the victim. The measure was expanded last year to bar those who commit first- or second-degree larceny or who abuse elderly or disabled persons from collecting an inheritance.
