A man accused of killing and dismembering his 11-month-old daughter in Naugatuck in 2022 turned down a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for as many as four decades.
Christopher Francisquini, 34, rejected the deal on Thursday in Waterbury Superior Court where his case was added to the trial list, according to court records.
Earlier this year, he was offered a plea bargain that would have allowed his attorney the right to argue for a sentence of 35 years in prison.
Christopher Francisquini is charged with murder in connection to the death of his daughter, 11-month-old Camilla Francisquini.
According to court records, Francisquini is represented by Rashad Kareem Glass, a public defender. Glass could not be reached for comment Friday.
Francisquini has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder with special circumstances and risk of injury to a minor in connection with the death of his 11-month-old daughter Camilla Francisquini.
The child’s mother, Kristyl Nieves, found her dead at a home on Millville Avenue in Naugatuck on Nov. 18, 2022, according to the warrant affidavit supporting the arrest. She made the discovery not long after returning home where she went downstairs to clean up “a quilt and a bunch of stuff on the floor,” the warrant affidavit said. When Nieves lifted the quilt, she found the dead child and started screaming “the baby the baby,” police wrote in the warrant affidavit.
Family members in the home rushed downstairs and found that Camilla Francisquini had been dismembered, according to the warrant affidavit. Christopher Francisquini’s father told police he immediately knew his son had killed the child, initially saying he was the only one in the home before clarifying that there were others there when the child was killed, the warrant affidavit said.
An autopsy found that Camilla died of compressions to her neck and stab wounds. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Family members told police that Christopher Francisquini suffers from mental health issues and had been prescribed medication, though they said they did not think he was taking them at the time of the infant’s death, the warrant affidavit said.
Nieves told police that Christopher Francisquini told her he heard voices, including some that told him to kill his father, the warrant affidavit said. Another family member reported overhearing him talk about hearing voices, police wrote in the warrant,
The child’s death led to the FBI taking out digital billboards on multiple highways asking for the public’s help finding Christopher Francisquini, offering a $25,000 reward. He was apprehended on Dec. 2, 2022, after being spotted at a Waterbury bus stop.
Christopher Francisquini remains held in lieu of $5.2 million bond, records show. A start date for his trial has not been set.
