HARWINTON, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) – Two people were set to face a Connecticut judge on Tuesday in connection with a manslaughter case that happened in Harwinton last July.
Logan Diaz-Lopardo, 21, and 20-year-old Abbigale Whipple, both of Torrington, were arrested on Monday, state police said.
Their arrest stemmed from an investigation that began in July when 24-year-old Kevin Christopher Gangell was struck and killed on Clearview Avenue in Harwinton.
State police said Diaz-Lopardo was behind the wheel of the car and Whipple was his passenger.
According to the police report, Whipple and Gangell, the victim, dated for over a year.
The night before the crash, on July 27, Gangell and Whipple got into an argument. The next morning, Whipple found Gangell had blocked her phone number.
Troopers said that angered Whipple, so she reached out to Diaz-Lopardo.
She told state police that she was not interested in Diaz-Lopardo romantically, but that he was obsessed with her and would do anything for her.
She told troopers, “But I kinda led him on a little bit sometimes. I didn’t want to hurt him, you know what I mean? Like, I would always say, ‘One day.’”
When state police told Whipple they would be taking her phone for the investigation, she stated, “I mean, maybe I have threatened [Gangell], but I didn’t mean nothin’ I said. Everything I say is out of ‘impulsivity.’”
Police collected Snapchat texts between Diaz-Lopardo and Whipple the morning of the crash. In the messages, Whipple asked Diaz-Lopardo, “Can we beat his ass please” and “I want him hurt.”
She also sent a message to Gangell minutes before the crash that said “I warned you,” state police said.
Then, Diaz-Lopardo and Whipple hit Gangell with Diaz-Lopardo’s car, according to state police.
Gangell was thrown 70 feet and died.
Diaz-Lopardo was charged with manslaughter in the first degree with intent to injure, manslaughter in the first degree with grave risk of death, and conspiracy to commit manslaughter in the first degree.
Whipple was charged with conspiracy to commit manslaughter in the first degree and accessory to manslaughter in the first degree.
Diaz-Lopardo was held on a $500,000 bond and Whipple was held on a $250,000 bond.
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