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Jennifer Valiante, 31, was handcuffed and shackled as she appeared in a Bridgeport courtroom Monday and did not enter a plea. She is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree hindering prosecution and is held on $2 million bond.
Valiante was arrested Friday night after police discovered the bodies of her boyfriend's parents at a home in Weston. Her boyfriend, Kyle Navin, 27, of Bridgeport, is in federal custody on gun charges and will be charged with two counts of murder and one count of murder with special circumstances.
Valiante’s attorney, Elliot Warren, said his client has known about the Navins’ disappearance for months and has met with police several times.
“She maintains she has nothing to do with this,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.
Jeanette Navin, 55, and Jeffrey Navin, 56, of Easton were last seen on Aug. 4 and reported missing three days later, prompting a statewide search by police. Police identified Kyle Navin as a person of interest early in the case. In September, he was taken into custody and indicted on a federal charge of possession of a firearm by a drug-addicted person, and has remained in federal custody ever since.
The bodies of the Navins were discovered at a home on Norfield Road on Thursday when the property owner uncovered them while performing yard work, according to police. Kyle Navin is an acquaintance of the owner's son, though police said that neither the owner nor his son were suspects in the case. The home had been unoccupied for several years.
The arrest warrant issued by state police against Valiante provided details on the case, the strained relationship between Kyle Navin and his parents, and a possible motive for the killings. According to the warrant, Kyle Navin had a history of drug use, including heroin, and owed his parents more than $130,000. He also believed that his parents planned to write him out of their will and sell off their refuse removal business where he worked, according to the warrant.
The warrant also contains a number of text message exchanges between Navin and Valiante, in which he complains about his parents and says he wants to figure out "the best way to take them down." They also discuss a plan put in place that would solve their financial problems.
"It would solve every single problem and give us a wealthy amazing life," Navin texted Valiante on July 8. "Wipe out the infection and get $ for life. It's perfect plan.”
Warren said the texts are only a small sample of dozens of messages sent between Navin and Valiante, who had lived together in his Bridgeport home, and said they might be misconstrued out of context. He would not comment on the nature of their relationship now and said Valiante, who is unemployed, is living with her family.
“She has uncles, aunts, grandparents and the like here,” said Warren, who did not mention any parents.
The warrant also revealed that two bullet holes were found in Kyle Navin's truck. His mother's blood was found in his car, and his father's blood was found at his house in Bridgeport, according to the warrant.
According to the warrant, both Valiante and Navin gave conflicting accounts of their whereabouts on the day of the Navins' disappearance. Police said that Kyle Navin also made no attempt to reach out to investigators to inquire about the status of the investigation, and that all contact was initiated by police in an attempt to find his parents.
Warren said Valiante may enter a plea at her Nov. 24 arraignment and he will likely seek to reduce her bail.
“Two million dollars is a lot of money for a family,” he said.
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