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STAMFORD — A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit murder in the 2006 stabbing death of a millionaire Connecticut developer accused of real estate fraud.
Leonard Trujillo, 23, of Worcester, agreed to the plea deal on the eve of his trial. Prosecutors dropped a murder charge against him under the condition he would testify against his cousin Carlos Trujillo, the developer's chauffeur, if necessary during an upcoming trial.
Andrew Kissel was found stabbed to death in his Greenwich home just days before he was to plead guilty in a multimillion-dollar fraud case. Carlos Trujillo, 48, of Bridgeport, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Leonard Trujillo's attorney, Mark Sherman, said that under the plea deal, his client admitted planning the killing, but not carrying it out.
"The whole point of this plea is the state recognizes he did not kill this man," Sherman said. "He was paid by his cousin to do this crime. But he did not kill Andrew Kissel."
Leonard Trujillo is expected to be sentenced to 20 years in prison following the trial of his cousin. Sherman said he will be able to get out of prison in 17 years.
"As a father of two young children, he will still have a lot of years to enjoy them," Sherman said.
Lindy Urso, Carlos Trujillo's attorney, said his client continues to maintain his innocence.
"He's looking forward to his day in court," Urso said. "Carlos has been consistent throughout that he had absolutely nothing to do with this."
Urso said he expects prosecutors to upgrade the charge against his client to murder based on his cousin's plea deal. Urso said he's not sure why Leonard Trujillo agreed to a deal, but said he may have panicked at the long prison sentence he faced if convicted at trial.
A telephone message was left Friday for prosecutor Paul Ferencek.
Kissel's brother, Robert, was a wealthy banker who was poisoned and beaten to death in Hong Kong in 2003. His wife was convicted of murder in the case that became known as the "milkshake murder." Authorities said she fed him a strawberry milkshake laced with poison and bludgeoned him with a statue. She was sentenced to life in prison in 2005.
