Brothers stabbed in East Haven, 1 killed

EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Piles of clothes were still in the street where two brothers were stabbed in East Haven Tuesday. A third brother was beaten with a baton-like weapon.

It happened on Maplevale Road in East Haven, right in front of Stephanie Davis' house.

"I didn't know what happened, I was freaking out," Davis said.

She came home to the normally quiet residential area to find crime scene tape and cop cars blocking the street. She says, she doesn't know the victims at all, but of course, the whole thing is just so disturbing.

"One was really bad and got, had to be put in the ambulance here again," Davis said.

News 8 is told one of the brothers has died: 21-year-old Michael Lieto was severely wounded and did not survive. His 26-year-old older brother was also stabbed multiple times and remains in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The 23-year-old brother was not seriously hurt.

The Lieto's used to live in East Haven, though not where the stabbing took place, and the family has since moved to Wallingford.

News 8 is told, the brothers were contacted online and lured to the street by the two suspects: a 21-year-old man and a 17-year-old juvenile.

Aaron Powell, 21, was charged with first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, carrying a dangerous weapon, and second-degree breach of peace.

New 8 found two police officers posted at a home around the corner from the crime scene. The suspects do know the victims, but it's not yet clear how well.

"They have some relationship, how close they are, we don't know," said Chief Larrabee.

And we're told, the fight was over something incredibly trivial.

"Apparently it started over a chain, a stupid chain," said Davis.

A necklace, though at this point, it's not clear who had it or why.

"One group says that the other group had it and that's what precipitated all this," Chief Larrabee said.

Powell was held on a $1,000,000 bond and will be arraigned on Wednesday.