Fatal Attack Linked to Sexual Advance

Waterbury man appears in court in connection with 2009 murder.

A Waterbury man killed a disabled homeless man because he thought the victim made a sexual advance toward him, according to police.

The Republican American, citing statements to police, reports that Matthew O'Brien-Veader, 23, allegedly killed Joed Olivera in June 2009 because he believed Olivera made an advance as they slept in an abandoned factory.

Court documents state that O'Brien-Veader tried to throw Olivera down a flight of stairs, beat him with the victim's own crutches until they broke and then stabbed him with a dagger after pushing Olivera through a hole in a floor.

Jason Benoit, a friend of O'Brien-Veader, testified in Waterbury Superior Court on Tuesday that the suspect didn't approve of gay people and once said they should be dropped on an island.

If convicted, O'Brien-Veader faces life in prison.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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