A judge on Wednesday appointed an attorney to represent the children of a Cheshire man charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of his wife last month.
Emanuel Dominguez-VillaGomez, 31, faces charges of murder, first-degree assault, risk of injury to a minor, first-degree reckless endangerment and first-degree unlawful restraint. He is being held on $1 million bond.
Monica Pinto Dominguez was found in a pool of blood on the floor of the couple’s home at 780 Mountain Road after a domestic dispute on Sept. 11. She died at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury four days later. Police said she had been stabbed as many as 30 times.
When she was interviewed by police in the hospital, Dominguez identified her husband as her attacker. He was in the home when police arrived.
There were also two children in the home at the time of the incident. Dominguez’s 11-year old son and the couple’s almost 2-year-old daughter. Both are in the care of the state Department of Children and Families.
During Wednesday’s court appearance, Nickola Cunha, an attorney representing the slain mother’s family, objected to Dominguez-VillaGomez having contact with the 2-year old. Norm Pattis, his attorney, requested that Dominguez-VillaGomez be allowed to have contact with his child through a supervised visitation in prison.
Judge Patrick Clifford noted there was a protective order issued for Dominguez that extended to both children, but he added he wasn’t sure of the status of the order since the woman is dead. At the previous court hearing, Clifford ordered Dominguez-VillaGomez not to have any contact with either child. Pattis said Dominguez-VillaGomez is not seeking to have contact with the 11-year-old, who is not his biological child.
Cunha said she is representing the maternal grandmother, who has a custody claim pending for the 2-year-old.
Clifford appointed an attorney to represent the interests of both children in the case. Clifford said he will rule on the issue after receiving a report from the attorney and DCF.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney John Doyle said he expects to have all the reports and documents from state police and the medical examiner by Monday and will send the information to Pattis. The lawyers were also given access to Dominguez-VillaGomez’s and Monica Dominguez’s medical records.
The case was continued to Oct. 30.