Conviction of Marash Gojcaj in Gusto Murder

After deliberating since Wednesday at about 11 a.m., the jury in the murder trial of Marash Gojcaj found him guilty Friday just after 4:30 p.m. in the murder of his uncle and business partner, Zef Vulivec.

State's Attorney Steve Sedensky said Gojcaj is scheduled to for a pre-sentencing review at 10 a.m. December 17, and he is being held on a $2 million bond.

"Since his conviction, the likelihood of his flight risk is greater," Sedensky said. "The judge has to set a bond that will assure his presence."

The prosecution in the murder case set out to prove that sometime in the early morning hours of April 5, 2004, Gojcaj shot his uncle in the head twice, dismembered his body, and stuffed the seven pieces into six black garbage bags. This happened at Gusto's Ristorante, 275 Main St., and after that, prosecutors argued, Gojcaj drove the corpse over to Bedford NY, where he dumped the bags in a secluded area.

After that, police questioned Gojcaj about Vulivec's disappearance, and some of those statements were used at trial to prove inconsistencies in Gojcaj's account of what happened that night. After the victim's body was found, police questioned Gojcaj again and that is when the inconsistencies appeared.

Gojcaj said, for instance, he left the restaurant at about 2 a.m., but alarm records showed someone locked the door and set the alarm at about 4 a.m. Gojcaj said his uncle left the restaurant in anger before 2 a.m.

Defense Attorney Stephan Seegar argued in trial the prosecution could not prove the murder happened in Connecticut, so the trial couldn't take place in Connecticut. He argued there was no evidence of the murder taking place in the restaurant, and the prosecution provided no physical evidence of the murder in the restaurant.

Judge Robin Pavia dismissed Seegar's motion of jurisdiction by saying the prosection had proved the murder took place in Danbury.

Seegar said jurisdiction is one way the defense plans to overturn the jury's decision.

"We will not sit still with this decision," Seegar said. "There is not enough evidence to convict our client beyond a reasonable doubt."

Seegar said some evidence shows the victim wasn't wearing the last clothes he was seen in, which was the night of April 4-5 at Gusto's. He said that is inconsistent with what was argued in court.

"We intend to focus on that as well," Seegar said.

Seegar said Judge Pavia was fair to the defense, and the defense has an option to disagree with the judge. The defense does disagree, and it will file a series of motions and appeals next week.

"The first step will be to question the jurisdiction," Seegar said. The second step will be to ask the judge to dismiss the case. The third will be to file a motion for acquittal on the grounds the case wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sedensky, the State's Attorney, said Gojcaj faces between 20 and 60 years in prison for the murder. That decision will be made after the pre-sentencing hearing in December.

"The Danbury Police Department did a good case of putting together the pieces," Sedensky said.