Woman sentenced to six years in prison for role in assault that left man brain-dead in Bristol
A Bristol woman has been sentenced to six years in prison for her role in an assault in the city in 2019 that left a man brain-dead.
Heather Duperry, 41, of Hawthorne Street received the sentence Thursday in New Britain Superior Court, where a judge ordered she serve five years of probation upon her release from prison.
During a previous hearing, Duperry took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter. This came after she initially made her intention formally known that she would pursue a trial before walking back that decision.
The sentence handed down Thursday exposes Duperry to an additional 14 years in prison if she were to violate any conditions of probation.
The case against Duperry’s co-defendant, Gabor Cirok, 47, remains on the state’s trial list with no formal start date.
Cirok, who is being held on a $750,000 bond, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree manslaughter and accessory to first-degree manslaughter.
Duperry, Gabor Cirok and Christopher Cirok, a juvenile who was later prosecuted as an adult, were charged in the beating death of Michael Martinez, a 38-year-old who was assaulted during a party at his Bartholomew Street home in Bristol for his girlfriend’s birthday on Aug. 19, 2019, according to court documents. The attack left Martinez brain-dead. Days later, he was taken off of life support, court papers said.
Christopher Cirok, who was 16 years old at the time of the assault, was prosecuted as an adult and was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by five years of probation, in July 2021 after pleading guilty to one count of first-degree assault.
According to court documents, Martinez allegedly assaulted a man before he was attacked by Gabor Cirok, Duperry and the teenager, who initially was not identified because of his age.
According to the warrants, witnesses said Gabor Cirok struck Martinez’s head with a wooden chair in the driveway of the home. However, Gabor Cirok disputed this claim and told police he struck the 38-year-old in the back with the chair after Martinez tried striking him with the piece of furniture.
Duperry and the teen, the warrants said, admitted to kicking Martinez when he was defenseless on the ground.