Errol Dehaney

Case record: Errol Dehaney

Overview

Errol Dehaney was sentenced to life in prison on December 8, 1999. He was charged in connection with the deaths of his wife and their two children.

Timeline

• November 25, 1995 — Errol Dehaney shot and killed his wife and two children after an argument involving their Thanksgiving outing.
• December 8, 1999 — He was sentenced to life in prison.

Background

Errol Dehaney lived in Hartford, Connecticut, with his wife, Shennavia Dehaney, and their two children. The couple’s marriage began to deteriorate in 1993.

Mary Shears testified that in 1993 the victim left Dehaney and, along with the two children, moved in with Shears. In December 1993, the victim had Dehaney arrested for allegedly attempting to strangle her with an extension cord.

Anne Marie Cook testified that the victim would “cower” in Dehaney’s presence.

In the fall of 1995, the victim told Shears that she planned to move into her own apartment and get divorced. Cook testified that, at that time, she helped the victim find programs through which the victim could obtain affordable housing for herself and the children.

On September 29, 1995, the victim applied for and obtained an ex parte restraining order against Dehaney, claiming that she feared for the safety of herself and her children. On October 27, 1995, she filed a divorce action against him.

On November 8, 1995, Dehaney was arrested for sexual assault in a spousal or cohabiting relationship. That case was pending and had not yet gone to trial on November 23, 1995.

The offence

On November 23, 1995, the defendant, the victim and their children spent much of the day together, celebrating Thanksgiving at the home of Dehaney’s sister, Sharon James.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, Dehaney left James’ home to attend another Thanksgiving gathering at 39 Grant Street in Hartford, the home of some friends. The defendant’s father, aunt and other close friends were present at that gathering, but the victim had not been invited because of the criminal charges she had filed against Dehaney.

At approximately 9 p.m. that evening, Dehaney returned to James’ home to pick up the victim and the children and drive them home. James testified that Dehaney appeared happy and ate from a plate of food the victim had prepared for him.

At 10 p.m. that evening, Dehaney drove the victim and the children back to 39 Grant Street to pick up his father and take them all home. Dehaney left the victim with the children in the car while he went into 39 Grant Street.

After approximately one hour, Maureen Grant, one of the guests, testified that she went outside and saw the victim sitting in Dehaney’s car with the children. Up until this point, no one in the house knew that they were outside. The victim asked Grant to find out if Dehaney was coming out soon because their daughter had wet herself and they needed to go home.

Another guest, Velora McIntosh Jones, overheard this and went back inside the house to tell Dehaney that the victim and the children were waiting for him. He responded to Jones’ comments by “hiss[ing]” through his teeth and slamming down a bottle of beer. He then went outside, argued with the victim, and retrieved something from the trunk of the car. He placed a locking device on the steering wheel of the car, took the keys out of the ignition, and returned to the house.

The victim followed him inside, leaving the children in the car, and asked to use the telephone in order to call a cab to take her and the children home. Dehaney then went upstairs and into the bathroom. Grant headed upstairs and the victim followed behind her.

Dehaney emerged from the upstairs bathroom with a gun in his hand. He cursed the victim and shot her five times at point blank range. She was rendered unconscious almost at once and died shortly thereafter.

Dehaney then went downstairs, out the front door, and proceeded to his car, where he first opened the front passenger door and shot his daughter once in the head, and then opened the rear passenger door and shot his son twice in the head. Both children were rendered unconscious instantaneously and died shortly thereafter.

After the shootings, Dehaney reentered the house, pacing back and forth, holding the gun to his head and threatening to kill himself. Grant picked up the telephone to call 911 and found that her husband was already on the telephone, speaking with the 911 dispatcher. She handed the telephone to Dehaney, who told the dispatcher that he had just killed his wife and children.

He explained that he shot his wife because she had lied to the police about him. Shortly thereafter, the police arrived at the house. Dehaney surrendered his gun and he was taken into custody.

Investigation / Arrest

Police arrived at the house shortly after Dehaney made the call to the 911 dispatcher and said he had killed his wife and children. Dehaney surrendered his gun and was taken into custody.

Trial

At trial, Dehaney asserted the defenses of insanity and extreme emotional disturbance.

Two psychiatrists testified as expert witnesses for the defense.

Harold Schwartz testified that Dehaney had a personality disorder and that, at the time of the murders, he suffered from a “major depression with psychotic features . . . marked, predominantly, by hallucinations over an extended period of time, auditory hallucinations, which were telling him to shoot his wife and children.” Schwartz testified that he believed that Dehaney was overcome by an extreme emotional disturbance that caused him to kill his wife. Schwartz testified that the defendant then “entered a state of dissociation” in which he was “unaware, consciously, of what he was doing.” Schwartz testified that it was in this dissociative state that Dehaney shot his children.

The other defense expert, Howard Zonana, testified that after Dehaney had shot his wife, he suffered an extreme emotional reaction and then entered a dissociative state during which he shot and killed his children.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty on each count.

Sentencing

On December 8, 1999, Dehaney was sentenced to life in prison.

Outcome

Dehaney was convicted, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty on each count.

Other details

Dehaney and his wife were described as living in Hartford with their two children, Errol Jr. and Shantalique. The defendant’s child, Errol Jr., was born in 1990, and Shantalique was born in 1993.

The victim was described as 22 years old at the time of the November 25, 1995 shootings. Dehaney was described as 27 at that time.

The victim’s co-worker at the department of children and families, Anne Marie Cook, testified about the victim’s behavior around Dehaney.

Sharon James testified about Dehaney’s conduct at the James home and later events.

Maureen Grant testified about seeing the victim sitting in the car with the children.

Velora McIntosh Jones overheard discussion between Grant and the victim and later communicated to Dehaney.

Mary Shears testified regarding the victim leaving Dehaney in 1993 and moving with the children to Shears’ home.