It’s now up to a jury of seven women and five men to determine whether the deadly shooting of Kurt Lametta by his landlord was murder.

There is no dispute that Ellen Wink, a former Norwalk official, killed Lametta inside 16 Nelson Ave. on Jan. 20, 2022. But jurors must come to a unanimous decision on whether it was intentional or an act of self-defense under extreme emotional disturbance.

The jury got the case around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, the 10th day of the trial, following closing arguments.

“How do you determine what somebody's intentions are?” Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Manning began her closing. “You look at what they do. You look at what they say. And you look at their expressions.”

Manning then took the jury through all of Wink’s actions and statements leading up to the deadly event. Manning said tensions with Lametta began Sept. 18, 2021, when Wink locked Lametta out of the home and threw away his belongings. Officers responded to the house and arrested Wink—an incident that was captured by a police body camera and shown at trial.

“What the criminal lockout actually tells you is the start of her motive and intentions. Her intention is to get Mr. Lametta out of her house in any way, shape or form. And as this period goes through, that intention turns into an intention to murder,” Manning stated.

Manning pointed to the 86 text messages Wink sent Lametta over the course of three-and-a-half months—texts that began with her telling Lametta to move out of the house following an argument with another tenant and other issues. As time went on, the texts escalated, with comments mocking Lametta’s weight and family.

Manning said Wink instigated all of that communication, with Lametta only sending 16 texts back. Manning reminded jurors that police were called by Lametta other times, too, including when Wink shut the heat and electricity off after Thanksgiving.

“Use your common sense. Are these the acts of someone who was so scared of Mr. Lametta or someone so desperate to get him off the property?” Manning asked.

But Wink’s attorney, Stephan Seeger, painted a different picture for the jury. He told them to remember the threat Lametta made toward Wink during an argument with another tenant in August 2021.

“I'll straighten her ass out for [expletive] running her mouth to you,” Lametta yelled during the dispute with Ian Roth, which was recorded and played for the jury during the trial.

Seeger explained that this incident was on Wink’s mind on the day of the deadly encounter nearly five months later, and Wink feared for her life.

“I want to remind you about the notion of perceived threat. What's going on? A 365-pound man, a woman—they have a history. Take account of the perceived threat,” Seeger stated.

He said Wink heard a rattling before she fired the first shot that day and believed Lametta had pulled a knife from a nearby drawer. Seeger also told the jury Lametta was the aggressor that day and was moving towards Wink when she pulled the trigger five times.

Much of the trial has focused on cellphone video of the shooting. Lametta was secretly recording his encounter with Wink when it turned deadly. On the day in question, she’d come into the home to clean out the refrigerator.

Manning implored the jury to look at the video during their deliberations. On it, the violence occurred after Lametta complained about Wink throwing out people’s stuff, but both landlord and tenant are calm.

“At that moment, Kurt Lametta doesn't speak. He doesn't speak. He doesn't move. Watch the video,” Manning said.

She also pointed out a delay of five seconds between the first two shots and the next three, during which Wink said, “You bastard!” before continuing to fire.

“This was deliberate. Two shots weren't enough, and he started to try and get away, and she had to shoot again,” Manning argued, reminding the jury that of the fire shots, two were to Lametta’s back.

But Seeger disagreed.

“If you look at the video, it doesn't tell the whole story, not at all,” Seeger countered.

He told the jury to recall the testimony of the defense’s clinical psychologist, who said her evaluation of Wink this year led her to believe Wink was suffering from anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, helplessness and hopelessness because of the contentious relationship with Lametta. Dr. Jessica Pearson said Wink suffered from an adjustment disorder and that on the day in question, she was overwhelmed by her emotions and lost control in an act of extreme emotional disturbance.

“Imagine if we could just convict on the smoke and not the fire. That's just not how it works, and it's not the American way,” Seeger said.

In Manning’s closing, she said there was plenty of evidence that the homicide was planned and premeditated. She brought up Winks’s web searches and site visits just days before the shooting—over two dozen regarding hollow point ammunition and guns, including an article titled "Bang: 5 Most Deadly Bullets on the Planet.”

“On Jan. 20, it's not about her loss of control. It's about the fact that she couldn't control Kurt Lametta on that day, so she took control back by killing him. Now it's your turn to take control back as the jury.”

The jury deliberated for about an hour on Wednesday before going home for the day.

They can find that the prosecution proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and convict Wink of murder or determine the state didn’t meet its burden and acquit her. They can also find Wink not guilty by reason of self-defense or not guilty by reason of extreme emotional disturbance, the latter of which means an automatic first-degree manslaughter conviction.

Deliberations continue Friday morning. There’s no court on Thursday due to the Juneteenth holiday.