New London Man Enters Plea In Murder Of Fiancé

A 33-year-old man has entered a plea in the stabbing death of his fiancé at the Courtview Square Apartments.

Evens St. Hilaire entered an Alford plea to murder today before Judge Patrick J. Clifford in the . Under a plea agreement, St. Hilaire will serve 30 years in prison but may argue for a shorter term. The Alford plea does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the state could convict him of the charge.

St. Hilaire was charged with killing 25-year-old Lynda Sanon on the evening of March 19, 2011. He told police that he and Sanon were engaged to be married in late May of that year, but that their relationship had become strained.

According to an affidavit by Detective Richard Curcuro of the , St. Hilaire said he and Sanon got into an argument at his residence at the Crystal Ave. apartment building. He said Sanon threatened to hurt herself by jumping out the window, then took a knife from the dresser in the bedroom.

St. Hilaire said he felt threatened and grabbed the knife away from Sanon. He first told police he stabbed her once in the throat, then said he had stabbed her twice in the neck. He said he lost his temper but did not intend to kill Sanon.

St. Hilaire said he was in shock and frightened after the incident, and that he did not call 911 right away because he was afraid of getting in trouble. He said he tried to perform CPR on Sanon and that she was making “strained breathing noises.”

After washing off the knife and putting it in a drawer, St. Hilaire said he changed his clothes and called one of Sanon’s family members to tell them what happened. He said the family member urged him to call an ambulance, but he did not do so before leaving the apartment and taking Sanon’s car to begin driving to her mother’s residence in Wallingford.

Another member of Sanon’s family called him and urged him to return to New London and call 911. St. Hilaire decided to go back to the city after he called his best friend, who also advised him to call 911. He made the emergency call while on I-95, and stopped en route to surrender to a Connecticut State Police trooper.

St. Hilaire has no prior criminal history in Connecticut and worked as a dealer at Mohegan Sun for 10 years. According to her obituary, Sanon worked for over five years as a medical assistant to Dr. Anatoly Braylovsky at the Family Practice of Greater New Haven and was studying to be a nurse.

Clifford scheduled St. Hilaire’s sentencing for Oct. 19.