Crime & Safety

West Hartford Man Sentenced in Murder of Former Girlfriend

Suzete Berrincha, 22, was killed in Novemer 2011.

A court appearance in which David Grant, 27, was sentenced to 40 years in prison recounted the tragic story of how an unhealthy relationship destroyed the lives of two Hall High graduates.

Grant was convicted of stabbing to death former girlfriend Suzete Berrincha, 22, in her home at 60 Westphal St. on Nov. 3, 2011. The murder took place during the massive power outage that followed the October nor’easter.

The prosecutor read a series of texts exchanged between Berrincha and Grant the day before she died that revealed he had hit her, the Hartford Courant reported. He called the relationship "toxic" and said they kept the relationship secret.

Grant reportedly went to Berrincha's home to convince her to go on vacation with him and when she refused, a struggle ensued, the Courant reported. She pulled a knife, he pulled it away and took out his own - a stainless steel folding knife that he had brought - and stabbed her with it, the article said.

He fled the home and was found two hours later hiding in a garage.

Grant reportedly apologized to her family but could not explain why he had killed her.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.