On a Sunday morning, October 19, 2014, the life of a 56-year-old Black / African American male named Larry Dildy came to a violent end inside his second-floor apartment on Circular Avenue in Hamden, Connecticut. What began as a reported dispute escalated tragically when shots were fired. Responding officers found Dildy wounded, and he was rushed to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries several hours later during surgery.
The incident was not a random act of violence but a home invasion and robbery gone horribly wrong.
Inside the apartment at the time was Dildy's wife, who was in an adjacent room when she heard loud banging on their door. The wood of the door split, and an intruder entered, demanding something from her husband. Dildy insisted he did not have what the man was asking for. Stepping into the kitchen, his wife witnessed the terrifying sight of the intruder pointing a gun at her husband. As she left the room to call 911, she heard the sounds of a physical struggle followed by a gunshot. The investigation later revealed that Dildy had been both shot and stabbed during the altercation. At the scene, police recovered key evidence, including a folding knife and a firearm.
The investigation quickly led to two suspects. The first to be arrested, on October 24, 2014, was William Coutermash, a 33-year-old from East Haven. He was charged with felony murder and robbery, among other charges. Authorities determined that while Coutermash was involved in the crime's planning and execution, he was not the one who entered Dildy's apartment. He had driven his accomplice to the residence with the intent to rob Dildy of money or pills, under the incorrect assumption that Dildy would be at church. Coutermash admitted to handing the gun to his partner from the car's glove compartment.
The man who did enter the apartment and ultimately took Dildy's life was identified as Nicholas Papantoniou, a 38-year-old hip-hop artist from Stratford known as "Nickel P". He was taken into custody on November 25, 2014, by members of the U.S. Marshal Service's Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force. Papantoniou was charged with felony murder, home invasion, robbery, and firearms violations. During his trial, Papantoniou claimed he was trying to break up a fight between Coutermash and Dildy and that the gun went off accidentally, a version of events the jury did not believe.
For his cooperation and testimony against his co-defendant, William Coutermash pleaded guilty to reduced charges and in June 2016 was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In March 2016, a jury found Nicholas Papantoniou guilty of felony murder, first-degree burglary, and criminal possession of a firearm. A judge, noting Papantoniou's "complete lack of remorse" in letters he had written, sentenced him in June 2016 to a total of 45 years in prison. However, in a later turn of events, a judge ordered a new trial for Papantoniou in January 2023, citing a significant conflict of interest involving his defense attorney.
