Trial Begins for Black Hood Accused of Killing White Bank Employee

Courant
October 4, 2014

Either of two deep stab wounds to the heart could have killed Christopher Donato in 2012, a medical examiner testified Tuesday in Superior Court.

Dr. Frank Evangelista testified during the first day of the murder trial of Carl “Hood” Small of Bloomfield. In addition to murder, Small is accused of a string of charges including robbery, burglary, larceny and theft of a firearm.

Evangelista testified that Donato had two stab wounds to the chest and one to the back. The back wound and one of the chest wounds were so deep — 5 to 7 inches, he said — that both penetrated Donato’s heart. Either could have killed him, he said.

Donato, who was 30, was found dead in his apartment at 58 Prospect Ave., Hartford, on June 18, 2012, by his father and a police officer. His father had asked police to help him check on his son, who hadn’t been heard from in a couple of days and hadn’t shown up for work that morning, police said. Donato worked at Sovereign Bank in West Hartford.

They found Donato lying on the living room floor covered in blood, police said.

The doctor said decomposition had begun and he couldn’t tell exactly when Donato died. The testimony caused some of Donato’s 10 family members and friends to leave the courtroom.

The apartment showed signs of a struggle, police said, including furniture that had been moved and blood splatters. The apartment also had been ransacked, they said.

According to the warrant for Small’s arrest, police connected Donato to Small through cell phone records. The records showed that calls from Donato’s cell phone had been placed to people who lived at an address on Vine Street where Small had been staying. Donato’s stolen Chevy Blazer was found around the block, police said.

When police searched the Vine Street address, they found a large, hunting-style knife with blood on it under a child’s bed, the warrant states. Investigators learned from residents that the knife belonged to Small, the warrant says.

Small also told people that he had hurt someone and some that he had killed someone, according to the warrant.

Police found Small in Philadelphia and arrested him on Aug. 1, 2012. Testimony is scheduled to continue Wednesday.