Christopher Francisquini, 31, accused of murdering and dismembering his 11-month-old daughter was arrested at a bus stop in Waterbury on Friday around 3 p.m., police said.
He was apprehended without incident after a person who had been following media coverage on the manhunt recognized him and called 911. He has now been taken into custody after nearly two weeks on the run, authorities confirmed.
Francisquini is accused of killing and dismembering his infant daughter Camilla on Nov. 18 in their Naugatuck home. The 11-month-old girl died of neck compressions and stab wounds, the chief medical examiner’s office said.
After the killing, the suspect got into an argument with the baby’s mother, who at the time was unaware her daughter was dead, police said. He then destroyed the woman’s cell phone and fled from their home in a 2006 gray Chevy Impala.
Francisquini, a felon with a lengthy rap sheet, is facing charges of murder with special circumstances and risk of injury to a minor.
“There’s a sense of relief that a dangerous criminal has been taken into custody and brought off the street,” Naugatuck Police Chief Colin McAllister said at a news conference Friday night.
Francisquini at the time of his arrest was on parole for a 2012 assault conviction, according to court records. Authorities said he cut off an electronic monitoring device from his ankle after he killed and dismembered his daughter.
Prior to his arrest, a reward in the case had recently been increased to $25,000 from $10,000.
Police said the report of Francisquini’s sighting was made through the department’s anonymous tip hotline.
“Francisquini’s capture is a clear example of what can be accomplished when community members work with law enforcement to take dangerous individuals off the street,” said Naugatuck Police Department in a statement.
“Within 28 hours of asking the public’s help, he was taken into custody without incident and will now face justice.”
Camilla would have turned one on Saturday.
