Judge denies defense motion in Kissel

Stamford (AP) - Lawyers for a Massachusetts man charged with murdering a Connecticut real estate mogul won't be allowed to introduce evidence alleging his ex-wife may have played a role in his death.

Superior Court Judge Richard Comerford said Monday that evidence purporting to link Haley Wolff to her husband Andrew Kissel's murder was "tenuous at best."

Comerford denied a motion from Mark Sherman, an attorney for 22-year-old Leonard Trujillo, of Worcester, Mass. Sherman wanted to present evidence that Wolff hated Kissel, fantasized about killing him and had checked his life insurance shortly before he was stabbed to death at his Greenwich home in 2006.

Prosecutor Paul Ferencek called Sherman's motion an attempt at character assassination.

Prosecutors allege Trujillo killed Kissel in a plot with his cousin.