Fitbit Housed Data That Pinned Husband For Murder

Fitbit Housed Data That Pinned Husband For Murder

Investigators pinned a murder charge on a Connecticut man for the death of his wife after evidence was collected from her Fitbit.  More than two years ago, 40-year-old Richard Dabate had concocted a story involving a masked intruder he was unable to stop from shooting his wife to death after she returned home from an exercise class.  Richard Dabate told police he engaged in a struggle with the masked person until the suspect was able to stop him by applying pressure to his wrists.  The killer then chased Richard’s wife Connie into the basement and shot her.  However, his story and the timeline he provided didn’t add up after officers referred to computer data on Connie’s Fitbit and on a home alarm system.  In fact, the device showed Connie was still alive and well an hour after her husband claimed she had met her demise at the hands of the unknown intruder.  

Dabate told police he left his home that day to go to work at about 8:30 a.m. and soon received an alert that their house alarm had been activated. Dabate claimed he emailed his boss from his car to warn him he would be late.  Then, he left for home where he confronted an intruder after returning at about 9 a.m.  Connie returned home during the confrontation. However, the evidence showed that the alarm was not even activated at the time of the alleged crime. Connie’s Fitbit, which pinned the murder on her husband, showed she returned home at 9:23 a.m., and her Facebook feed showed she was posting videos from there after her arrival.

Three police dogs also could not pick up a scent of a third person inside the home, it wasn’t apparent that an intruder ever entered the Dabate’s home, there was no signs of a struggle, and Richard Dabate was having an affair, investigator’s discovered, at the time of this wife’s death. He had just found out his girlfriend was pregnant.

One day before Connie Dabate had texted Richard a photo of her in sexy lingerie with the words, “I’m ready for u big boy”, the man had texted his pregnant girlfriend to assure her that he and his wife have “talked about the divorce and are on the same page.” He told the woman two days later that he and Connie were “getting a slow-moving divorce to make it easier on the kids.”  This was in November 2015.

A month later, Connie Dabate was found dead in the couple’s home from a gunshot to her head.  Richard had purchased the .357 Magnum used in the crime just months before. Investigators pinned the charge on Richard after all of the evidence was collected.

The warrant for Richard’s arrest and interviews with nearly twenty people who knew the couple reveal that few were aware of the couple’s problems. One of the first questions detectives asked Dabate was whether their investigation would reveal any issues in his marriage.  When poised the question directly, Richard, who was employed as a computer network administrator, answered, “Yes and no.”   But records show the couple had a normal, loving relationship and that their only arguments centered around money.  Connie was stressed with the amount of money Richard spent.  The couple had two sons, ages six and nine.

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A Marriage Marked By Secrets, A Murder Case Months In The Making

Murdered woman’s Fitbit data inconsistent with husband’s story, police say