'I started screaming': Griswold triple murder trial begins with neighbor testimony

NEW LONDON – After years of legal wrangling and procedural postponements, the trial of a 30-year-old Hartford man accused of brutally murdering three members of a Griswold family began on Friday in New London Superior Court.

Sergio Correa is accused of stabbing Matthew Lindquist to death, with the help of his adopted sister, before killing Matthew's parents, Kenneth and Janet, and burning down the family home at 70 Kenwood Estates on Dec. 20, 2017.

In an unusual move, Judge Hunchu Kwak allowed opening statements to be made by prosecutors and Correa’s defense team. The case is being heard by a 12-person jury made up of seven women and five men. Another five alternate jurors – one was dismissed Friday morning – will also be present for the evidence presentation portion of the trial, which is expected to last up to six weeks.

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen Carney, during his five-minute opening statement, gave an overview of the 14 charges Correa faces, including three counts of murder, two counts of second-degree arson, home invasion, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery.

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He noted one of the charges, murder in the commission of arson, was levied because an autopsy showed 61-year-old Janet Lindquist was likely killed “in the course of the fire.” Carney asked jurors to keep an open mind and said he expected by the end of the trial to have met the burden of proof required for the jury to convict Correa.

Corrie-Ann Mainville, representing Correa along with Attorney Joe Lopez Sr., used her opening time to lay out a “road map” of the defense’s strategy, which focused on the conduct and character of Correa’s sibling, Ruth Correa.

Previously:Griswold triple-murder case starts up again after six-week pause for jury selection

Ruth Correa previously confessed to helping kill Matthew Lindquist, but has laid the blame of his parents’ deaths squarely at her brother’s hands. Ruth Correa entered into a plea agreement with the state for a 40-year sentence on three charges of murder in exchange for testifying against her brother.

Mainville said she and Lopez don’t dispute the Lindquists were killed and their home destroyed.

“But we do dispute who is responsible,” she said.

The process:Griswold triple-murder trial loses four jurors, case delayed

Mainville worked to foreshadow the state’s case by predicting Ruth Correa will “point the finger” at her brother as the “mastermind” behind the murders. Mainville described Ruth Correa’s status at the time of the crimes as “broke” and suffering from mental health issues and by the time she confessed to police, was holding a grudge against her brother.

Mainville said Ruth Correa’s fellow inmate at the York Correctional Institute reported her describing the stabbing of Matthew Lindquist as “the best high I ever felt.”

Neighbor recalls night of murders

The first day of testimony included neighbors reporting being awoken early on the morning of Dec. 20, 2017 by heat and flames shooting from the Lindquist home.

Robert Thibeault, a friend of Kenneth Lindquist for more than 40 years who lived directly across the street from the family, said “bright orange light” flooded his bedroom on the morning of the fire.

“I started screaming,” he said. “I’d never heard myself make such a noise.”

In heartbreaking detail, Thibeault described frantically rushing around his friend’s quickly collapsing home, peering in windows and doors for signs of life.

“There was fire from the floor to the ceiling,” he said several times. “I just couldn’t get in.”

The bodies of his friends would be unearthed from the home’s rubble hours later.

Previous reporting:Woman who confessed to helping brother kill Griswold family back on witness stand

Thibeault said he and his friend exchanged text messages hours before in which Kenneth Lindquist stated “he really needed a friend” to speak with about Matthew, his 21-year-old son struggling with drug addiction.

Ruth Correa told police her brother previously agreed to provide Matthew Lindquist with heroin in exchange for guns kept in the Lindquist home. But prosecutors contend Sergio Correa double-crossed Matthew Lindquist and, along with his sister, stabbed him to death with a machete before stashing the body in a stretch of woods. His body was not found for months.

Sergio Correa is accused of entering the home and beating 56-year-old Kenneth Lindquist to death with a bat before assaulting and strangling Janet Lindquist. Kenneth Lindquist was found to have died of skull fractures and other head injuries, according to an autopsy report. Janet Lindquist died of blunt impact injuries to her head, smoke inhalation and burns.

Ruth Correa previously testified she and her brother ransacked the home before setting it ablaze and fleeing.

On Friday, the court gallery was filled with members of the Lindquist family and their friends, all seated a few feet from Sergio Correa, who sat quietly during the proceedings in a dark suit and face mask.

As of press time, prosecutors were eliciting testimony from various first responders, including state troopers, about their actions on the morning of the fire.

Testimony will resume on Monday.

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965