A New Milford man charged with manslaughter in the 2009 beating death of an Ecuadorean immigrant is asking a judge to prevent the jury from hearing the dying man's last words.
Joseph DaSilva Jr.'s attorney says Luis Encalada was too injured and drunk for his final words -- "DaSilva hit me" -- to be introduced as a credible dying declaration.
The legal standard allows the words of someone near death to be exempt from the ban on public hearsay.
DaSilva's trial is expected to start on Wednesday.
Police told the News-Times of Danbury that DaSilva beat Encalada and kicked him down the stairs after finding him trespassing at a Danbury apartment building that DaSilva owns.
DaSilva's lawyer, Eugene Riccio, said DaSilva plans to maintain his innocence throughout the prosecution.
