NAUGATUCK, Conn. — Connecticut police officers responding to a 911 call Friday morning discovered the dismembered body of an infant girl, and the girl’s father is being sought in her slaying.
FBI agents and Connecticut state troopers are assisting Naugatuck police investigators in their search for 31-year-old Christopher Francisquini, who is facing a charge of murder with special circumstances in the killing of his daughter, Camilla Francisquini.
Camilla was 11 months old. She would have been a year old on Dec. 2.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Christopher Francisquini’s arrest.
WANTED FOR MURDER: CHRISTOPHER FRANCISQUINI
— Naugatuck Police Dept. (@Naugy_PD) November 21, 2022
$10,000 CASH REWARD pic.twitter.com/qs7hrluzUw
Francisquini, a convicted felon, was on special parole at the time of the homicide. His status stemmed from a 2012 assault conviction for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He was also on house arrest due to pending criminal charges and being monitored via GPS ankle monitor. Four days before the murder, a judge had granted Francisquini a break from house arrest for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the New Haven Register reported.
Naugatuck police Chief Colin McAllister said during a news conference Monday that the infant’s murder is one of the most difficult and trying cases any of the investigators have dealt with in their careers.
“This is something that tears at the very fabric of our community, losing somebody so young who hasn’t even had an opportunity to start their life yet,” McAllister said.
Watch Monday’s news conference below.
David Sundberg, special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Haven field office, offered his condolences to Camilla’s mother and extended family.
“We’ve been working with the Naugatuck PD and Connecticut State Police and all of their local and state partners to try to bring this crime to closure and this subject to justice,” Sundberg said.
Naugatuck police officials said that a family member called 911 around 11:30 a.m. Friday to report a death. When officers arrived at the Millville Avenue home, they found Camilla’s body.
UPDATE: Police revealed the cause of death for a murdered baby girl in #Naugatuck. They also said she had been dismembered: https://t.co/GVL58KYtRE pic.twitter.com/RzpFg7RwuI
— WFSB Channel 3 (@WFSBnews) November 21, 2022
Based on the condition of the girl’s remains, McAllister said detectives could “clearly rule out this was an accident.”
“This was an intentional act,” McAllister said Monday.
An autopsy determined the girl had been choked and stabbed before her body was dismembered, the Hartford Courant reported.
McAllister said that Francisquini and the girl’s mother got into an argument at an undisclosed location in Waterbury on Friday morning, at which point Francisquini cut off his ankle monitor and destroyed his cellphone. Francisquini then left in a gray 2006 Chevrolet Impala that was found abandoned that evening at Exit 8 on Interstate 91.
Detectives determined that Camilla was already dead at the time of the argument, though her mother was unaware of the murder. McAllister would not say Monday if the girl’s mother was the family member who found her body.
The motive for the slaying is unclear, the chief said.
“That’s a question we’re all struggling with,” he said. “Who would do this, especially to their own child?”
Francisquini remained at large Tuesday. Witnesses told police they spotted a man matching Francisquini’s description running into nearby woods around the time the Impala was abandoned.
A man matching his description was also seen walking along Quinnipiac Avenue in New Haven around 4 p.m. Friday. Police released security images of the man in the hope it would prompt people to come forward.
“We’re appealing again to the public to try to follow this, and if they see anything, if they know anything, if they think there’s even a remote chance that they may have seen Francisquini, to contact law enforcement immediately,” McAllister said.
The chief told the public that anyone helping Francisquini evade arrest is in danger.
“You are not safe,” McAllister warned.
The fugitive, who has ties to Naugatuck, New Haven and Waterbury, was free on parole when he was arrested again in November 2021 following an alleged carjacking at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven.
Other charges at that time included burglary, breach of peace, larceny and assault.
The day after his arrest in the carjacking case, Francisquini was accused of trying to escape the jail. He allegedly assaulted a corrections officer during the attempt, according to police.
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Fox 61 in Hartford reported that Francisquini was ordered to finish his 2010 sentence following the new arrest. His jail term ended June 20 and he was released the following week after posting bond in the carjacking case.
Francisquini’s special parole was due to end in 2032. He was free on combined bonds totaling $375,000 at the time of Friday’s homicide.
Authorities told the Register that Francisquini was being monitored closely, and as of last week, he was compliant with the court’s requirements.
When he is found, Francisquini will be booked in lieu of $5 million bond on the murder charge.
“My message to Francisquini is turn yourself in immediately,” McAllister said Monday. “We will not rest until we take you into custody. We will be putting forward every effort to locate and apprehend this suspect and bring him to justice. This is an unconscionable act. It is a heinous crime.”
The chief reiterated that the FBI is part of the investigation.
“If you are trying to flee or elude law enforcement outside of the jurisdictional boundaries of Connecticut, we will capture you,” McAllister said.
Francisquini is described as a Hispanic man standing 6 feet tall and weighing about 230 pounds. He is considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information regarding his current and/or most recent whereabouts are asked to contact Naugatuck Police Department at 203-729-5221 or at investigators’ confidential tip line at 203-720-1010.
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