Family of Corina Rodriguez, a 25-year-old mother killed in a gruesome motel murder in East Lyme, said they are disappointed that Rodriguez's killer will only spend 40 years in prison for her murder.
"He shook this family to the core," Phil Rodriguez, Corina's stepfather told a judge at a sentencing hearing Thursday. "He didn't just kill Corina. He killed all of us."
Rodriguez, pregnant with her fourth child, was found in an East Lyme motel room in December of 2018. She had multiple stab wounds, stabbed more than 40 times, according to family.
Avery Hallbrooks, Rodriguez's boyfriend at the time, was accused of killing her and was charged for her murder.
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According to police, Hallbrooks initially tried to cover up the murder and blamed others for the crime. Thursday, nearly four years after Rodriguez's death, Hallbrooks was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder.
He entered into a plea agreement, pleading guilty to killing Rodriguez in exchange for a 40-year sentence.
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In court, Hallbrooks apologized to Rodriguez' friends and family members. The family called him a coward.
Heather Rodriguez, Corina's mother, wrote a letter to the judge in July asking her to reconsider her position and stop the plea offer.
"We are here today to voice our strong objection to the 40-year plea offer that has, yet again, been extended to the defendant after he rejected two offers," Heather wrote. "Given the horrific nature of this crime, and the defendant's actions following, we feel he should serve the 48 years that your honor offered as cap back when he rejected the court's first plea offer, and not a day less."
Corina's mother said that losing her daughter has been devastating to their entire family.
"The impact is overwhelming and will be lifelong," she told the judge in court.
Judge Strackbein expressed her condolences to the family and said she wanted them to understand that sentence by plea avoids years and years of appeals and potential problems that might come along with a trial. The judge said that the case highlights what she called an epidemic of domestic violence.
“Hopefully, if he does survive and he gets out, hopefully he doesn’t hurt another female again," said Phil Rodriguez, Corina's stepfather. "Domestic violence is serious."
Rodriguez's family said they are hoping to raise domestic violence awareness. According to Rodriguez's mother, Corina was planning on leaving Hallbrooks the night she was killed.
Now, Rodriguez's stepfather and mother want to work with state representatives to change Connecticut laws and create stricter sentencing requirements in domestic violence cases.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
