#Connecticut woman busted in 22-year-old reservoir murder case

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Katherine Pires (left) and Agnieszka Ziemlewski
Farmington Police; West Hartford

A Connecticut woman has just been nabbed in connection with the murder of a 26-year-old who was shot in close range 22 years ago.

Katherine Pires, 50, was arrested Sunday and charged with hindering prosecution and lying to police in their investigation into the death of Agnieszka Ziemlewski, the Hartford Courant reported.

Ziemlewski was walking along the Metropolitan District Reservoir in Farmington when she was shot three times in the neck in close proximity on Sept. 24, 1998.

Police long believe Ziemlewski — a graduate of the University of Connecticut who worked at United Health at the time — knew her killer. No one has ever been charged.

She had immigrated to Hartford from Poland when she was 12 years old and was known to close friends as Agnes or Niki.

Pires, of East Hartford, has been interviewed multiple times over the years but her statements to police have not been consistent, an official told the Courant.

Police have released little information on the allegations against Pires.

“Katherine has nothing to do with the crimes she is accused of and nothing to do with the murder of Ms. Ziemlewski in 1998,” Pires’ lawyer Aaron Jainchill said. “Katherine has not been charged with murder nor conspiracy to commit murder and has never been accused of either crime by law enforcement.”

Pires was arraigned Monday in Superior Court in Hartford. Her bail was set at $25,000.

The judge granted the prosecution’s request to keep the arrest warrant sealed for two weeks.

Farmington police have never stopped working on solving Ziemlewski’s murder, Lt. Tim McKenzie told the Courant.

They recently teamed up with the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, resulting in “tremendous progress” on the case.

Pires is due back in court July 14. It’s unclear if she was able to post bond.