In the coastal city of Norwalk, Connecticut, a dispute between a landlord and her tenant escalated to a tragic and fatal conclusion on January 20, 2022. Kurt Lametta, a 54-year-old man known to his friends as "Puff," a "gentle giant" with a big heart and a contagious smile, was shot and killed in his rented home on Nelson Avenue. His life was cut short in a violent confrontation with his landlord, Ellen Wink, a 61-year-old former city official.
The relationship between Lametta and Wink
had been deteriorating for some time, rooted in a landlord-tenant conflict. Months before the fatal shooting, in September 2021, Wink had been arrested for locking Lametta out of the house and disposing of his personal belongings. This incident was a prelude to the violence that would ultimately claim Lametta's life. On that January day, Wink entered the residence to clean it in preparation for a sale. An argument ensued, and in a chilling turn of events, Lametta began to secretly record the encounter on his cellphone.
The audio from Lametta’s phone captured the final, heated moments of his life. As the argument intensified, Wink could be heard firing a handgun. Lametta was shot multiple times and collapsed in his living room. Following the shooting, Wink was arrested at the scene and charged with murder. The audio recording from the victim’s phone became a crucial piece of evidence in the subsequent investigation and trial.
Ellen Wink, who had served as the city clerk and was the Republican deputy registrar of voters at the time of her arrest, was tried for the murder of Kurt Lametta. During the trial, her defense team argued that she had acted in self-defense. However, the jury, after reviewing the evidence, including the audio recording of the incident, found her guilty of murder and criminal lockout. In September 2025, a judge sentenced Ellen Wink to 50 years in prison for the killing of her tenant, bringing a somber end to a case that began with a contentious dispute and ended in a senseless act of violence.
