Judge Keeps Meriden Murder Suspect's Bond at $750,000

Melissa Ziemba remains incarcerated on $750,000 bond following her arraignment in Meriden Superior Court on charges that she shot and killed city resident Richard West in February.

Ziemba, 42, of 207 Crystal Lake Road in Middletown, and criminal use of a firearm after being arrested Wednesday evening following a seven-month investigation into the .

Ziemba's relationship with the 49-year-old West is unclear, however Meriden police confirmed that she was living with West in his 76 Olive St. home where the shooting happened.

A Meriden court judge transferred her case to the Part A division at New Haven Superior Court, which handles the most serious cases, and kept Ziemba’s bond at the originally $750,000. She was also granted a public defender.

According to the court bailiff, Ziemba has a criminal record in both Connecticut and Colorado that stretches back to the 1990s. She most recently served a nine-month prison sentence in 2003 for a violation of probation, a charge that stemmed from a previous conviction of assault and a failure to appear.

According to Ziemba’s public defender, there were no witnesses to the shooting ad the charges are based on an assumption by a state pathologist. He requested that Ziemba receive medical attention for mental health issues, that the judge consider a lower bond because the woman made no attempts to flee during the course of the police investigation.

Ziemba is due in New Haven court on Sept. 11.

Check back with Meriden Patch for an update on this story Friday.