Lawyer: Woman Denies Role In Killings Of Connecticut Couple

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A woman accused of conspiring with her boyfriend to kill his parents as they planned to cut him out of their will insists she had nothing to do with their slayings, her lawyer said Monday after she made her first court appearance.

Jennifer Valiante, 31, of Westport, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and hindering prosecution in connection with the killings of Jeanette and Jeffrey Navin of Easton.

A Bridgeport Superior Court judge on Monday kept her bail at $2 million and continued the case to Nov. 24.

Police said in an arrest warrant affidavit that Valiante was in on the plot with the Navins' son, 27-year-old Kyle Navin of Bridgeport.

"She has maintained that she has nothing to do with this,'' Valiante's lawyer, Elliot Warren, said after the hearing. "She was looking for Kyle's parents as soon as she realized they were missing and trying to help find them. We're sad, we're disappointed at the nature of the charges, but we're looking forward to being in court and establishing her innocence.''

Kyle Navin is facing murder charges in the killings of his parents, whose remains were found Thursday outside a vacant house in Weston, which is next to Easton. Both towns are wealthy suburbs near Bridgeport.

Kyle Navin awaits arraignment, which has not been scheduled. His lawyer declined to comment.

He is detained on a federal weapon charge stemming from a search of his home after his parents vanished. Authorities say they found two firearms, ammunition and evidence he was using heroin, oxycodone and other controlled substances. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Navins disappeared Aug. 4. Their pickup truck was found with a shattered window on Aug. 9 in a commuter lot off the Merritt Parkway in Westport.

Jeffrey Navin was president of J&J Refuse in Westport. Jeannette Navin was a school library aide in Weston.

The couple communicated frequently through text message when they weren't together. Police cited the content of those text messages as probable cause for Valiante's involvement in the murder, CBS2's Lou Young reported.

Jeanette Navin had told a friend she was upset about her son's behavior and drug use, and his failure to pay the mortgage and taxes on the home they bought him, according to the arrest warrant for Valiante. She also told her friend that she and her husband planned to sell their trash-hauling business and cut their son out of their will, the warrant says.

The month before his parents disappeared, Kyle Navin texted Valiante saying he had the "perfect plan'' to get "$ for life,'' according to the warrant. Navin wrote that the plan would "solve every single problem and give us a wealthy amazing life.''

Navin and Valiante talked about what they would do with the money, police said. Valiante texted, "That'll allow us to stay in our house and pay for a full top-line remodel and a new garage,'' according to the warrant.

Warren said the texts have been "taken out of context,'' and Valiante would deny talking with or texting to Kyle Navin about killing his parents and taking their money.

"She moved back in with her family in Westport and had remained there," Warren said.

Authorities said Kyle Navin told police conflicting versions of his actions on the day his parents disappeared. The day after his parents vanished, police said he bought germicidal bleach, drain opener, stain remover and contractor cleanup bags.

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