'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
While there is no new episode of Dateline this week, the iconic show is all set to cover a classic case featuring the murder of Connie Dabate, and the involvement of Richard Dabate, her husband, in the same. The case shook the quaint community of Ellington, Connecticut, in December 2015, and remained shrouded in mystery for a long time.
The episode, which originally aired on January 6, 2023, is titled The Secrets of Birch View Drive and is set to re-air on Friday, January 3, 2025, on NBC. The synopsis for the episode reads:
"After an apparent brazen home invasion during the holiday season in a quiet Connecticut community leaves Connie Dabate dead, investigators discover a silent witness that cracks the case wide open."
Though Richard Dabate almost perfectly diverted the police to a whole new direction with his perfect staging of a home invasion, his lies soon came to the fore, alongside the news of an affair.
Trending
In 2021, Dabate was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 65 years in prison, where he remains today.
Who is Richard Dabate and what happened to him?
Richard Dabate was born in Manchester, Connecticut, and graduated from Manchester High School in 1995. He went forward in the career path of a computer network administrator in Bloomfield. He met Connie Margotta, a pharmaceutical representative, and fell in love with her.
The two got married in July 2003 and had two sons. From the outside, Richard seemed to be the perfect guy, with friends and acquaintances describing him as quirky and fun.
On December 23, 2015, Richard called the police at around 10:15 AM from their residence in Ellington. The authorities reached to find Richard partially tied to a metal chair, and his wife, Connie Dabate dead from two gunshot wounds.
Richard revealed that he went to drop their sons at the school bus stop before leaving for work. However, he allegedly got a cellphone alert about fifteen minutes later about his house alarm being activated. He rushed back home to find a masked invader, who allegedly threatened him with a knife.
When Connie returned, Richard allegedly alerted her, and as she made her way to the basement, the intruder shot her and tied Richard to a chair. He also allegedly tortured Richard Dabate with a blowtorch and a box cutter. The intruder only ran away after Richard managed to turn the blowtorch onto the man’s face.
What really happened on the day of Connie's murder?
As the investigation proceeded, the authorities discovered that there was much more to the case. Not only did the injuries that Richard Dabate had seem to be superficial, but soon they also discovered that he had an affair with a woman named Sara Ganzer. Sara was also pregnant with his child.
He tried to explain that Sara was a surrogate mother and he, Connie, and Sara had a complex arrangement about raising the kid. However, sniffer dogs could not locate the scent of this said intruder, and neighbors all around did not attest to seeing anyone that morning.
Moreover, Richard Dabate's retelling of the story had multiple inconsistencies. He had also tried to claim Connie's life insurance money within days of the murder. He had also reportedly purchased a 357 Magnum, which was the same gun that was used to shoot Connie.
The final nail in the coffin for Richard came with the data from Connie's Fitbit, which practically presented multiple inconsistencies with Richard's account of the day of the murder. This was more than enough to charge Richard with the murder of his wife.
Where is Richard Dabate now?
Despite the defense arguing the validity of digital proof in the form of the Fitbit data, the jury was more than convinced about Richard's guilt due to the mountain of evidence against him.
He was sentenced to 65 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated in the maximum-security MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, where he will remain till at least 2087.
The upcoming episode of Dateline will cover this case in more detail.
