Law360 (July 27, 2026, 6:11 PM EDT) -- A Connecticut appeals court granted a new trial to a man convicted of murder after finding that during initial plea negotiations, an attorney representing him gave him bad advice on whether his codefendant would testify in his case.

The three-judge panel backed on Friday a habeas petition grant for Kyle Freitag, finding that attorney Francis O'Reilly misled him about whether Freitag's codefendant, Terrence Baxter, would testify during his trial in support of Freitag's self-defense claims.

"We conclude that the habeas court properly concluded that the petitioner was prejudiced by O'Reilly's incorrect advice regarding Baxter's willingness to testify," the unsigned court order said. "Because that conclusion is sufficient to uphold the habeas court's judgment granting the amended petition, we need not address the respondent's claim that the court erred in concluding that O'Reilly performed deficiently in his advice about the viability of the self-defense claim."

Freitag and Baxter were driving in a minivan in Norwalk in October 2012 when Freitag claims two men driving a scooter pulled beside them and brandished a firearm. Freitag claims that in response he fired his own pistol at the scooter, hitting both the driver and passenger, the opinion said.

Baxter, who was driving, sped off and the pair were captured approximately ten minutes after the shooting on a nearby highway. Police took the two into custody and Freitag made several "unrepentant" remarks about the shooting, claiming to police that "it was me or them," the opinion said.

The driver of the scooter was killed in the shooting and the passenger behind him was paralyzed from the mid-back down. Freitag was charged with murder, attempted murder, two counts of assault, as well as other charges, the opinion said.

A public defender made an initial appearance to represent Freitag and in November 2014, O'Reilly was appointed as appointed counsel. A plea agreement with the state was eventually brokered that offered Freitag 25 to 30 years in prison followed by 10 years of special parole in exchange for pleading guilty, the opinion said.

Freitag took the deal and was sentenced by a trial court to thirty years plus parole for the shooting. After sentencing, Freitag would file in September 2015 a pro se habeas petition, arguing that O'Reilly misled him during the settlement negotiations. Freitag was later appointed counsel, the opinion said.

O'Reilly told Freitag during the negotiations that Baxter had refused, or would refuse, to testify that the shooting was in self-defense because the scooter driver brandished a gun. O'Reilly would later claim that there were never any discussions about Baxter's willingness to testify, the opinion said.

A trial court denied Freitag's habeas claim and he appealed to a state appellate court, which held Freitag had successfully proved he should be allowed to argue his habeas petition. The court found that because there was an issue of fact dispute between Freitag and O'Reilly's accounts, the petition should be allowed to move forward, the opinion said.

The case was retried before the habeas court and Freitag argued that both O'Reilly's conduct during trial, and another attorney's decision not to withdraw the plea deal prejudiced his trial. The habeas court in May 2024 issued a memorandum partially granting Freitag's petition, finding that O'Reilly's advice impacted the case, but rejected the claim against the other attorney, the opinion said.

The habeas court ruled that the case should be sent back to the trial court and the state appealed, arguing the petition should be denied outright. The appeals court on Friday found that the habeas court was correct to partially grant Freitag's petition and order a retrial.

An attorney representing Freitag and a spokesperson for Connecticut State's Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment.

The state is represented by Alexander A. Kambanis, Paul J. Ferencek, Angela Macchiarulo, Jo Anne Sulik and Michael Proto of the Connecticut State's Attorney's Office.

Freitag is represented by Hope J. Estrella of the Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services.

The case is Freitag v. Commissioner of Correction, case number AC 47920, in the Connecticut Appellate Court.

--Editing by Vaqas Asghar.

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