Connecticut v. Borrelli

The state (plaintiff) charged Anthony Borrelli (defendant) with various crimes relating to domestic violence perpetrated against Borrelli’s wife (the wife). Evidence at trial showed that one night, the wife went to the police department with her three children and reported to officer Dale Olofson events that had occurred the night before. The wife signed a written statement detailing the sequence of events. The couple had fought, Borrelli accused the wife of cheating, and he effectively held her against her will and tortured her. Borrelli destroyed her property, held a pillow over her face so she could not breathe, tied her up, threatened to kill her, threw a knife at a wall, cut her lips, and held a cigarette lighter near her genital area. Later, at trial, the wife recanted her statement and, on cross-examination, testified that she had been the one to tie up and physically abuse Borrelli. The wife claimed that she had made up her initial statement so that Borrelli would be arrested. Evidence at trial also showed that a neighbor of the Borrellis had witnessed, on a separate occasion, Borrelli push the wife on a car, with his hands on her face and neck. The state introduced the testimony of an expert witness, Evan Stark, who was a sociologist who specialized in battered-woman syndrome. Stark testified about the cyclical nature of domestic violence, victims’ varying mental states during different cycles, and a set of victim behaviors that would seem unusual to outsiders, such as a victim’s desire to protect her spouse despite having been physically abused. The jury convicted Borrelli of the charged crimes. Borrelli appealed.