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The Seymour Police Department Contributed |
MILFORD — Two brothers are due in court next month on charges they forcibly removed their deaf and legally blind sister from a probate court hearing that was taking place at her Seymour home.
Gary Marsala, 56, of Seymour, and Randy Marsala, 46, of Beacon Falls, face charges of witness intimidation, second-degree unlawful restraint, and conspiracy in the case.
A lawyer representing the brothers did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday.
According to an arrest warrant, the brothers’ 52-year-old sister has a medical condition that led to several brain surgeries. One of the surgeries rendered her deaf early in life. Another in 1997 damaged her optic nerve and resulted in her being declared legally blind, though she can communicate via sign language.
A medical malpractice lawsuit filed on the woman’s behalf resulted in a structured settlement from which she receives monthly payments of $3,700, according to the warrant.
The woman’s father served as her conservator until just prior to his death in April, after which a lawyer who goes to church with one of the woman’s friends petitioned a court for an involuntary conservatorship to “get a handle” on the woman’s finances and “life in general.”
At a May 25 hearing inside the woman’s Greenwood Circle home, the lawyer told police that the Marsala brothers yelled at and insulted her as soon as she arrived, saying “You’re the troublemaker, why are you getting involved in this, you don’t know what’s going on.”
The warrant says that later, after the brothers were told to wait outside by Probate Judge Clifford Hoyle, they yelled at one of their sister’s friends, who was arriving late to the hearing, to “get the (expletive) out of here.”
The lawyer told police that after the hearing was stopped so the judge could address the disruption, the brothers came running into the house and removed their sister from the building.
While the lawyer described the brothers’ actions as “violent,” another witness told police the brothers “guided” her out of the house.
The sister was taken to Gary Marsala’s SUV in the driveway, according to the warrant, and driven away before eventually being returned to the home later.
In an interview with police conducted with the help of a sign language interpreter, the woman told police Randy Marsala had taken her from the property against her will.
“Yes, he forced me,” the warrant quotes her as saying — though she also said she didn’t want him or Gary to be arrested.
“Regarding her feelings about what happened to her that day, (the victim) said that she is very upset, it was bad, and she didn’t know what to do,” the warrant says.
The brothers were arrested Sept. 2 and released on $10,000 non-surety bonds.
They appeared in court Dec. 3, where Assistant State’s Attorney Alexander Beck said he had ordered a transcript of the probate court hearing so he could review it with the Marsalas’ lawyer.
The brothers are scheduled to return to court Jan. 28.
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