A Connecticut man betrayed his accomplice, killing him and his parents before robbing them. Now, he will never walk free again.
This month in Connecticut, New London Superior Court Judge Hunchu Kwak sentenced Sergio Correa, 30, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the triple stabbing and beating death of Kenneth, 56, Janet, 61, and Mathew Lindquist, 21. Correa was found guilty and convicted of murder with special circumstances while committing two or more murders during the commission of the same crime, two counts of murder during the commission of a felony,two counts of second-degree arson, two counts of first-degree robbery, and first-degree burglary.
“I don’t know if this will bring you closure, but I hope it brings finality to your suffering,” Kwak said during Correa’s sentencing hearing, according to The Bulletin.
In December 2017, Matthew Lindquist, who was suffering from heroin addiction, conspired with Correa to rob his family’s Kenwood Estate home of his father’s guns in Griswold, Connecticut. In exchange, the victim would receive a handsome amount of heroin from the defendant, who was also a narcotics dealer.
Later, Correa and his adopted sister, Ruth Correa, led Matthew Lindquist to a wooded area near the family home, where he was fatally stabbed and sliced 67 times with a machete. Then, the duo invaded the Lindquist home and beat Kenneth Linguist to death with a baseball bat. The defendant also bludgeoned Janet Linquist before strangulating her with a shoestring.
Ruth Correa pleaded guilty to the triple murders and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. In exchange, she testified for the state against her brother. However, she claimed to witness all the murders but refused to participate against the defendant’s orders.
After stealing some pieces of jewelry, guns and gift items, the duo burned down the home, hoping to rid of any incriminating evidence from the scene.
Prosecutors called Sergio Correa’s former girlfriend, Tanisha Vicento to the stand in a rebuttal. A couple of days after the slayings, the defendant told her he killed the father, while Ruth killed Janet Lindquist, Vicento testified in court.
Nevertheless, Ruth Correa’s defense lawyer Kevin Barrs told the court his client also suffered from substance abuse and mental health issues stemming from a long history of sexual abuse at the hands of her brother.
Lindquist family members expressed their frustrations and anger at the plea bargain made with Ruth Correa by the prosecutor’s office.
“A guilty verdict does not mean justice has prevailed; it does not mean the judicial system works; it does not mean we get to return to normal and move on with the lives we once knew. The lives that were taken at the hands of cold-blooded killers can never be returned,” said the victims’ son and brother Eric Lindquist, according to Newsweek.
Correa was sentenced to additional 105 years in prison on the other charges. He had been on parole after a 10-year sentence for an assault and robbery conviction in 2008. The murders occurred three months after his early release.
The Lindquist family dog, Skylar, was also killed during the incident.
