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Michael “Buddha” Catchings, 23, pleaded guilty on Monday, Jan. 13 to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and first-degree assault as his murder trial was set to begin.
When he is sentenced on Friday, March 13, Catchings will face up to 25 years in prison.
Catchings admitted to fatally shooting his 27-year-old niece, Raenetta Catchings in front of her Stratford home on Aug. 13, 2017. He also pleaded guilty to wounding her boyfriend, Bridgeport resident Marc Elliott, during the incident.
Officers from the Stratford Police Department responded to reports of a gunshot on North Avenue on the day of the shooting, and they found Catchings’ victim in the street with a gunshot wound to her chest. Elliott also suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen, police said.
The shooting reportedly happened at a family birthday party when a verbal argument escalated between the two. Catchings was transported to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
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