The murder trial for Carlos Trujillo, 49, of Bridgeport, starts on Monday and is expected to last just over two weeks as the state lines up a series of witnesses.
In April 2006, Greenwich real estate developer Andrew Kissel was found stabbed to death, bound hand-to-foot in the basement of his mansion.
The Greenwich Time reports that the words of Trujillo's younger cousin, Leonard Trujillo of Worcester, Massachusetts, could decide whether Kissel's longtime chauffeur walks away a free man or is convicted.
"The central figure in the trial is the co-defendant," well-known defense attorney Eugene Riccio told the Time. "I think he will make or break the case."
The younger Trujillo stood before a judge on the eve of his own trial and pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter and conspiracy.
In exchange for his plea, Leonard Trujillo received 19 years in prison. He also agreed to testify that he was recruited by Carlos Trujillo to assist him in killing Kissel.
Trujillo told police Carlos offered him $11,000 and a computer and purchased a knife and other supplies used in the crime from a Norwalk Army-Navy store.
Following that plea, Carlos Trujillo was re-charged with murder and attempted murder, leading to the new prosecution.
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