Husband charged in Guilford woman’s murder had history of domestic violence, records show

Hartford Courant - 10/14/2021

The husband of a woman found bludgeoned to death in a Guilford condo in July was charged with her murder Thursday, police said. Court records show he has a history of domestic violence stretching back more than 15 years.

Robert Faison, 45, of West Haven was arrested on a warrant charging him with murder and is in custody on $2 million bail, they said. The two had recently gotten back together after separating, Chief Warren “Butch” Hyatt said.

Faison has been in custody since being extradited to Connecticut from New YorkAug. 11 on a charge of violation of probation, police said. He was identified as a suspect shortly after the July 22 homicide and was found living at a New York City homeless shelter July 30.

When Lindsey Hopkins, 42, was found dead in her Mohawk Trail condo, she had injuries that immediately pointed to homicide, police said. The medical examiner said her death was caused by blunt force trauma.

Married, separated and back together

Faison and Hopkins had been married since 2018, family court records show. They didn’t have any children together. He filed for divorce on Jan. 5, checking off the box for, “This marriage has broken down irretrievably,” the records show.

Judge Karen Goodrow dismissed his complaint April 1 because no one had shown up in court, a court staff member said.

Although the two had been separated and were on a path to divorce, they reconciled and got back together, police Chief Warren “Butch” Hyatt said Thursday.

On probation

Faison has a history of domestic violence; it’s not clear if Hopkins was a victim in any of the previous cases because the names of family violence victims are confidential. Hyatt said he believes the previous arrests involved other women.

Faison’s most recent conviction was last year. On March 10, 2020, Faison was given a suspended, two-year sentence, followed by three years of probation, for violating a restraining order.

The conviction stemmed from an incident on March 19, 2017, during which he went to the Waterbury home of a woman about 3 a.m., beeped his car horn and shouted her name continuously in violation of the order, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. He was arrested on Sept. 28, 2017.

Substance abuse

A condition of his release was that he get substance abuse evaluation and treatment, the documents said.

On March 25, 2014, Faison was sentenced in Superior Court in Waterbury to one year in jail for second-degree strangulation and criminal violation of a protective order. The charges stem from two separate cases.

The first is from his arrest on April 19, 2012 in Waterbury. On that day, according to the warrant, Faison “began to yell and scream at his girlfriend while accusing her of cheating on him.” It appeared he was under the influence of either alcohol or narcotics, the woman told police.

‘Grabbed her by the neck… and squeezed’

The woman tried to leave the home and they struggled, but Faison wouldn’t let her go. He told her to sit down in a chair and she did, after which he began to call her “numerous names,” the warrant said. When she tried to get up, “Faison grabbed her by the neck with both hands and squeezed.” The woman told police she felt like she was going to pass out.

He eventually let go and she was able to kick him off her and flee. While she ran, she tried to dial 911, but Faison grabbed the cellphone and threw it, the warrant said.

He left and she was able to get back into the home, but he returned and threw rocks at the windows in an attempt to get her to open the door, it said.

Faison was arrested on the protective order charge Feb. 23, 2014, when he had an argument with his girlfriend — apparently the same one — in Waterbury. According to that warrant, the woman told police “Robert beliefs [sic] she is cheating on him” and he “has been trying to get her mad all day so they could have an argument.”

Threatening behavior

The woman also told police that Faison has choked her in the past and that “she does not want it to happen again.” She also said she was alarmed at his threatening behavior, the warrant said.

Faison admitted he had gotten into an argument with her because he thought she was cheating on him, the warrant said, but he denied threatening her. Police learned she had a partial protective order against him.

Faison’s name stayed off state court dockets for most of the previous decade with one exception: On July 20, 2005, he was convicted in Superior Court in Middletown of second-degree threatening and first-degree unlawful restraint, a Class D felony, after a family violence arrest the previous March.

Charges of third-degree assault and second-degree kidnapping were not prosecuted, court records show. Details of the incident were not available from court because the arrest was made on site and not by warrant.

Faison was sentenced to probation and ordered not to threaten or harass two female victims, the records show.

Because he was found to have been dependent on drugs or alcohol at the time of the crime, he was ordered into an in-patient drug and alcohol program.

Hopkins’ murder was the first homicide in Guilford in 21 years, the chief said.

Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com