A Westport man is due for a new trial after serving three decades in prison in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy.
Brian Peixoto was arrested and charged in connection with the death of his girlfriend’s son, Christopher Affonso Jr., at their Westport home in 1996. The following year, he was found guilty of first-degree murder “based on a theory of extreme or cruelty” and sentenced to natural life in prison, according to court documents obtained by 12 News.
The 80-page, May 18 filing shows Judge Daniel J. O’Shea ordered Peixoto’s sentence to be vacated, therefore overturning his conviction and granting him a new trial. He has been ordered held without bail at the Bristol County House of Correction in the interim and is expected to appear in court for a hearing Thursday.
For the past 30 years he’s spent incarcerated, Peixoto has maintained his innocence and filed motions for a new trial on four separate occasions. Supporters argue he was wrongfully convicted of a horrific crime, without any evidence that he ever hurt Christopher.
They pointed to the high-profile case of Louise Woodward, who was arrested just a month before Peixoto’s trial, claiming he was “collateral damage in the wake of the media frenzy around a highly publicized and prejudicial, emotionally charged case.”
According to a website dedicated to shedding light on the case, Peixoto has been represented by criminal trial lawyer Jennifer Fitzgerald and the CPCS Innocence Program, as well as supported by the New England Innocence Project.
See more at wpri.com.
