What happened to Connie Dabate?
Michael Green
Published Aug 25, 2026
HORROR ensued when a mother of two was found dead after a home invasion.
As police investigated Connie Dabate's murder, they discovered the home intrusion was staged by her husband.
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What happened to Connie Dabate?
On December 23, 2015, 39-year-old Connie Dabate's lifeless body was found in the basement of her home in Ellington, Connecticut.
The wife and mother-of-two was discovered with gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen.
When a silent alarm was triggered, police arrived at Connie's residence where they discovered her.
Law enforcement also discovered Connie's husband Richard Dabate lying on the kitchen floor and tied to a metal folding chair.
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Richard claimed he struggled with an intruder who he described as six foot two with a camouflage mask and disguise.
He also said the assailant tied him to the chair and stabbed him with a box cutter.
By Richard's account, he returned to his house after dropping his children off at school because he received a notification about his home's alarm going off.
Upon returning home, he insisted he heard a noise upstairs and that's when he came across the trespasser.
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Richard told local authorities he tried to warn Connie about the intruder when she returned home from the gym but was unsuccessful.
The late victim is survived by her two sons RJ and Connor.
Who murdered Connie?
On April 14, 2017, Richard was arrested in connection with Connie's homicide and he stood accused of staging the invasion before taking his late wife's life.
He was charged with felony counts of murder, evidence tampering, and giving false statements to cops.
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Although law enforcement concluded a gun belonging to Richard was the murder weapon, he pleaded not guilty.
His statements to the cops were countered by data retrieved from Connie's Fitbit.
The late woman's device revealed she was moving around for close to an hour after the time her husband claims her death took place.
He claimed he received the alarm notification at 9am but Connie's movements didn't stop until after 10am.
Connecticut police explained: "The timeline just didn't add up. There were a lot of questions.
"His story made no sense, so we had to begin a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of it."
Prosecutors cited a potential divorce as Richard's motive for killing Connie.
The reason for the divorce was attributed to the assailant's extramarital affair with a woman named Sara Ganzer, who was also pregnant with Richard's child.
On May 10, 2022, Connie's husband was found guilty and sentenced to 65 years in prison.
How can I watch Connie's Dateline episode?
Connie's tragedy at the hands of her husband is retold in an episode of Dateline NBC titled The Secrets of Birch View Drive.
The Secrets of Birch View Drive is scheduled to air on January 6, 2023.
That Friday at 9pm EST, the broadcast will feature anchor Andrea Canning as she gathers first-hand accounts from legal officials, police, family, and friends who were close to the investigation.
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For those that miss the episode's premiere, there are a couple of streaming options available.
Audiences that miss the initial airing can check out Connie's episode through Hulu or Peacock.
