On the day Lori Gellatly was due to appear in Milford Superior Court, in an effort to extend a restraining order against her husband, it was her husband who made a court appearance, on murder charges.
A state police report says after Scott Gellatly was arrested Wednesday, following a six-hour manhunt, he told investigators he had no knowledge of any weapons and that he cannot remember if he was at the residence of his wife early yesterday morning. He also told authorities he woke up yesterday wanting to commit suicide.
“It is an understatement, Your Honor, to say that he is a risk to the community,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Gaetano. “There is one victim here, who is deceased. Another victim seriously injured. He fled the scene.”
Judge Karen Sequino upheld the $2 million bond and ordered a mental health evaluation, which will be used to determine if she will grant a request of Gellatly’s public defender’s for a suicide watch.
Among those attending the arraignment, family representing Lori Gellatly and her mother, Merry Jackson, who remains in serious condition at St. Mary’s Hospital. Tony Profeta, who says he’s been friends with Scott Gellatly for about 25 years, never imagined there would come a day he would be looking at his friend in an orange jumpsuit.
“I was just over their house for pizza about a month ago and they were all happy,” said Profeta. “I didn’t see anything that would lead me to believe that they were having struggles.”
Several days after Lori Gellatly took the couple’s twins and moved to her parents’ house, following an alleged April 1 assault, Scott Gellatly used Facebook to accuse his wife of infidelity. Profeta said he spoke with his friend and urged him “to calm down…don’t escalate this.”