Lawyer's death wasn't a homicide, prosecutor says, but victim's dad says suit will lead to truth
Gugsa Abraham “Abe” Dabela. Photo from Justice4abe.com.
Prosecutors have closed an investigation into the death of a Connecticut lawyer found dead in his overturned Mercedes SUV from a bullet wound to his head.
Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky III said the April 2014 death of lawyer Gugsa Abraham “Abe” Dabela was not a homicide, report the Hartford Courant, the Redding Pilot, NBC Connecticut and the Associated Press.
A lawsuit filed last year by Dabela’s estate had claimed Dabela was murdered, and police officials in Redding, Connecticut, had conspired to cover up the crime by claiming Dabela had committed suicide. On the night of his death, the suit said, Dabela visited two restaurants and a sports bar and was “in his normal jovial spirits.”
Dabela had a new solo practice and was handing out business cards on the night he died, the suit says. DNA on Dabela’s handgun didn’t belong to him, and his hands were never tested for gun residue, the suit said.
The suit said police would have conducted a proper investigation if Dabela, an Ethiopian American, had been white.
Sedensky’s statement said Dabela’s car rolled over and “the subsequent discharge of a firearm resulted in his death.” He told AP that Dabela’s DNA was found on the gun’s grip, but not on the trigger. The DNA of three other people was also on the gun, he said, which could be from Dabela shaking hands with people on the night of his death.
Dabela’s father, Abraham Dabela, said he believes the lawsuit will lead to the truth. “My son was killed,” Dabela told the Associated Press. “We will continue to pursue the issue until either I die … or we don’t have funding anymore to pay the lawyer.”
