Milford Man Arrested for Allegedly Murdering East Haven Woman

Police in Middletown, R.I., have charged a Milford man with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the death of a 35-year-old woman in Middletown Tuesday night.

Zachary J. Lepelusa, 24, will be arraigned in Second District Court in Newport this afternoon and police said additional charges may be forthcoming as the homicide case remains under investigation. He is charged in the murder of Antoinette Venditti Bruce, 35, of East Haven, Conn.

Middletown police would not comment on the nature of their relationship or whether they knew each other.

Police confirmed reports from last night that they received a 911 emergency call from the Marriot Residence Inn on West Main Road around 4:27 p.m. from witnesses who saw a woman being stabbed inside a vehicle in the parking lot, according to a statement issued Wednesday morning from the Middletown Police Department. A manager at the Residence Inn on Tuesday night had previously confirmed that an employee had made the 911 call, but declined further comment.

After witnesses at the Residence Inn called 911, the suspect's vehicle allegedly fled the scene with the woman still inside the car before officers arrived on scene, according to police. A short time later, Detective Walter Mey spotted the suspect's car in the parking lot at Third Beach and alleges that when he approached the car, Lepelusa sped away. The short police chase ended on Third Beach Road where the driver stopped the car and fled on foot toward the Norman Bird Sanctuary, according to police.

Det. Mey was able to catch Lepelusa and placed him under arrest. A short time later, Middletown police found Venditti Bruce's body in a drainage ditch along Hanging Rocks Road, the police department press release stated.

A police spokesman said no known prior arrest records have turned up against Lepelusa at this time. Police also said that at this time they are not aware of any ties that either individual has to Middletown, but that the joint investigation by the Middletown Police Department and Rhode Island State Police remains ongoing, with assistance by the state attorney general's office.

On Wednesday morning, a steady stream of Rhode Island State Police detectives and crime scene investigators were seen arriving at the Middletown Police Department station on Valley Road as the investigation continued.

Hanging Rocks Road where Venditti Bruce's body was found remained closed off to traffic Wednesday morning but police said they expected it to reopen by Wednesday afternoon.

The Third Beach parking lot where Det. Mey initially spotted the suspect's car also remained closed off with police barricades on Wednesday morning, although no police activity was observed on scene.

Aside from the barricade, missing was any hint of violence from the night prior.

Four deer nibbled tall grasses under the warming morning sun 100 yards away.

Also Wednesday morning, local and state police had removed the crime scene tape and silver or gray Honda that had been found in the driveway within the 400 block of Third Beach Tuesday night and later processed as evidence.

A second car had been observed being removed by a flat bed truck from the Marriot Residence Inn parking lot on Tuesday night and escorted away by Rhode Island State Police on Tuesday night, but police on Wednesday morning would not confirm if the car was seized as evidence and declined comment as to how the second vehicle fit into the investigation.

An earlier story reported Tuesday night during the investigation may be viewed here.

Stay tuned for more details as Patch updates the story.