Man Sentenced To Prison For 2021 Killing Of Wife In South Windsor

HARTFORD, CT — A man arrested in connection with his wife's death more than three years ago pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree manslaughter, risk of injury to a child and tampering with physical evidence, and was sentenced Tuesday to a 27-year prison term.

Tahj H. Hutchinson, 26, received his sentence, accompanied by three years of special probation, from Hartford Superior Court Judge David P. Gold. He had pleaded guilty on Sept. 24, according to Sharmese L. Walcott, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.

Hutchinson's wife, Jessica Edwards, 30, was reported missing from the couple's South Windsor condominium in May 2021. Police, family and friends searched for her for 11 days, until her body was discovered by police, assisted by drones from the Connecticut State Police, in a swampy area of East Hartford, Walcott said.

According to testimony and evidence presented to the court, Hutchinson told police an argument he had with Edwards in their condo on May 10, 2021 turned violent, and in an attempt to calm the situation, he restrained her by lying on top of her until she stopped moving. The couple's 7-month-old son was in the home at the time of the incident, Walcott said.

Hutchinson later discarded hiswife's lifeless body, wrapped in a blanket, in East Hartford, Walcott said.

The prosecutor praised local and state police, as well as family members of Edwards, who attended every court hearing.

"Their strength over the past three and a half years is remarkable," Walcott said. "They never stopped advocating for their sister, daughter and aunt who they love and miss immensely. The judge expressed sentiments that the defendant 'can never snuff out Jessica's light because it burns so brightly through her family.' I am hopeful the family has some peace with this difficult chapter being complete. Many victims’ families do not get to hear the word 'guilty' from the person who took the life of their loved one; there is value in that statement."