CT man sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter after deadly stabbing following romantic encounter
A man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter in the stabbing death of a man following a romantic encounter in a Rocky Hill apartment in 2019.
Kenton Dalton, 44, of Rocky Hill had also faced charges of murder and first-degree manslaughter in connection with a fatal stabbing on March 18, 2019, but was found guilty of only one count of second-degree manslaughter following a jury trial in New Britain Superior Court, according to judicial records.
Dalton faced sentencing in the New Britain courthouse on Wednesday.
According to the incident report filed by Rocky Hill Police Department, Dalton stabbed a man multiple times following a romantic encounter between the two at a Century Hills apartment on Cold Springs Road. The victim was not identified in the report, which was redacted before being released.
Rocky Hill police responded to the apartment on the report of a man who had been stabbed several times. They found the victim in a third-floor hallway soaked in blood and moaning, according to the report.
Dalton and multiple others from the apartment building were standing over the victim, the report said. Dalton, with blood on the side of his face, told officers multiple times “I’m so sorry,” Rocky Hill police wrote in their report.
The victim was taken to Hartford Hospital, where he later died.
Dalton admitted to police he had stabbed the victim, but he told officers it was done in self-defense, the report said. Dalton and the man had been consuming alcohol and watching a movie together in a Century Hills apartment before they began kissing, according to the report. Dalton told police he asked the victim to leave after the man had bitten his neck, but the man couldn’t find a ride and Dalton would not let him drive himself, the police report said.
Dalton told police he felt threatened during an argument that ensued, so he grabbed two kitchen knives before the victim chest-bumped him, the report said. Dalton told police he then stabbed the man what he believed was seven times, according to the report.
The incident was the first homicide in Rocky Hill since 2004, police said at the time.
Dalton’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.