Sister of Murdered Valley Girl Pleads for Changes in State Laws

The family of Joyce Stochmal continues to fight for changes in Connecticut's laws as they seek what they believe to be justice in trying to ensure that no family endures the pain they've experienced from the murder of their family member.

Last year David Weinberg, convicted in 1989 of the 1984 stabbing murder of Joyce Stochmal of Seymour — was released on time served, following seven years of work by the Connecticut Innocence Project.

The approval of a "sentence modification" by Judge Roland D. Fasano allowed Weinberg, 58, to be released after serving 26 years of a 60-year "life sentence" — although credit for good behavior and other time he earned raised the time he is credited with serving to 39 years and 27 days.

Weinberg's conviction will stand — something that both Platt and Marianne Heffernan said was important to the family and the state.

According to testimony in his trial, Weinberg drove by Joyce Stochmal as she was walking along Route 188 in Seymour to her job at a dog kennel, carrying her purse and a duffel bag holding a makeup case and a change of clothes, included jeans, a T-shirt and underwear. Police said he grabbed her and took her to an area beneath Steel Bridge in Newtown, where he stabbed her 17 times and left her body in Lake Zoar, a dammed section of the Housatonic River.

Her body was found three days later by three people out fishing.

Joyce's sister, Marianne Stochmal Heffernan, appeared before a committee of the state legislature Monday to ask for a change in state laws.

Here is what she had to say:

“I am here again on behalf of my family, the family of Joyce Stochmal of Seymour, to speak in favor of House Bill 5576 regarding a proposed online registry for convicted murderers.

“My family brought this to the attention of Rep. Themis Klarides last year, after convicted murderer David Weinberg was released from his life sentence, not proven innocent and not completing the 60 years without parole that he was initially ordered to serve. Today, he is living as a free, guilty killer. You have no right to know it, but he could be living in a community that one or more of you represents.

“Would your constituents be comfortable knowing that there is a killer living in their town?

“I did some research. Here are a few points:

“- Law enforcement agencies and corrections departments maintain public databases for murderers in the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Kansas and Oklahoma. Virtually every state has a sex offender registry.

“- Officials say these registries help inform people about who in their community has a violent past. They say that information has the potential to keep people safer, and if nothing else, more aware of their surroundings.

“- Most states with databases don't require convicted murderers to register for life unless specific circumstances apply. Violent offenders in Montana are required to register for 10 years, and then they can petition the court for removal from the registry.

“- In Illinois, a person convicted of first-degree murder of another adult must register for 10 years after they are released from prison. Lifetime registration is required when the murder is sexually motivated, if the victim is age 17 or younger and the offender is an adult, or if a person has two or more convictions requiring registration.

“Opponents to registries say the public lists create a stigma for people who've done their time. That is not always the case, as we saw with my sister’s killer. He did not do his time, and yet, he is freely living among us. Think about that the next time your wife or daughter, or granddaughter runs out to the grocery store and is standing in line to check out, not knowing that a convicted killer is behind her waiting to check out his cart.

“As I mentioned, there are several states with murder registries. All states have sex offender registries. Now, some states are establishing registries for those who abuse animals — in fact, I noticed that very suggestion is proposed as SB 523.

“The legislature needs to take this one seriously and do what is right.

“A registry is a way to hold convicted persons accountable and to put a heightened standard of responsibility on them. There are ways to do this that will make it fair, and hold criminals accountable.

“All you have to do is Google this topic and you will get plenty of perspectives, as well as examples of many other victims and murderers.

“Some people actually suggest that those who commit murder are “not likely” to murder again. I offer this: is it worth that risk? Even if a murderer does not kill again, their record clearly shows a proven propensity for deadly violence. It is possible they have the capacity to do other harmful things. In our case, convicted murderer David Weinberg’s criminal record included arrests for sexual assault, breach of peace, harassment and threatening. His criminal record escalated over the course of his life to the point that by the age of 26, he committed the ultimate crime against another human being: he took the life of a 19-year-old girl.

“I am here to ask a lot: push this bill forward. Please let this discussion continue until it becomes Connecticut law for convicted murderers to be required to register.

“I will even go so far as to ask that you make it retroactive, so that the man who killed my sister will be required to put himself back into a process of being accountable for his crime. In our case, this killer was not proven innocent and he was not exonerated of his crime. In fact, he acknowledged this in court last March.

“When a person chooses to commit violence against another human being, they have made a choice that they must live with. They, not the innocent, law-abiding citizens of the state in which we all live, are the ones who should live with the consequences of their actions.

“I am asking you to please support this bill and help to get it passed into law.

“Thank you.”

Marianne Stochmal Heffernan