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Mar 23, 2008 6:44 am US/Eastern
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Police Arrest 2 For Murder Of Andrew Kissel
Former Real Estate Developer Was Stabbed To Death In 2006
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBS) ―
The driver of slain Greenwich real estate developer Andrew Kissel and another man have been charged in his 2006 murder, police said Saturday.
Leonard Trujillo, 21, was taken into custody at his home in Worcester, Mass., early Saturday on a warrant that charges him with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, police said.
His cousin and Kissel's former driver, 47-year-old Carlos Trujillo of Bridgeport, was arrested late Friday after being pulled over in Stratford, police said.
Carlos Trujillo is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, police said.
Kissel, 46, was tied up and stabbed to death in his Greenwich mansion in April 2006, just days before he was to plead guilty in a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud case.
Greenwich Police Chief David Ridberg said Saturday that warrants for the arrests of Leonard Trujillo and Carlos Trujillo are sealed, and that the investigation remains active. He said more information would be released Monday.
"There is still a lot of information to be gathered and facts discerned," Ridberg said in a written statement announcing the arrests.
Police said there was no sign of forced entry into the home, but would not discuss a possible motive or suspects in the days after the homicide.
Carlos Trujillo's attorney said he was interviewed by police several times and gave authorities samples of his DNA, fingerprints and some personal documents. He denied any involvement in Kissel's death.
Attorney Lindy Urso, who represented Trujillo shortly after Kissel's death could not be reached late Saturday. Information was not immediately available on whether Leonard Trujillo had an attorney.
Carlos Trujillo was being held late Saturday at Greenwich police headquarters and will appear Monday in Superior Court in Stamford unless he posts a $1 million cash bond, police said.
Leonard Trujillo was being held without bond late Saturday at the Worcester police station. He is scheduled to be presented in Worcester District Court on Monday before extradition proceedings are started.
Kissel, the brother of an investment banker killed in Hong Kong in what became known as the "milkshake murder," was found dead by employees of a moving company on April 3, 2006.
He had been stabbed multiple times and his hands and feet were bound, police said. They said from the start of the investigation that they did not believe the homicide was a random act.
Kissel's brother, Robert, was a wealthy banker whose wife was convicted of murder in Hong Kong in September 2005 and sentenced to life in prison after feeding him a milkshake laced with drugs and then beating him to death in November 2003.
Andrew Kissel and his estranged wife, Hayley, had cared for Robert Kissel's three children until they were handed over to the custody of the Kissels' sister, who lived near Seattle. Andrew and Hayley Kissel had two children of their own.
Andrew Kissel had criminal cases pending in federal and state courts in New York at the time of his death. The federal case charged him with real estate fraud and state prosecutors charged him with grand larceny, alleging he stole nearly $4 million from his Manhattan apartment cooperative.
Kissel also was being sued by a former business partner.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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