David E. Pouliot, deceased, of Springfield, Mass., has been linked to the crime scene

An unsolved 1993 homicide case involving a 10-year-old Grafton girl was the subject of a press conference last week hosted by Hampden County District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni. The conference was held to update the public on a case involving Holly Piirainen, who was abducted and murdered.

In the spring of 2011, Mastroianni informed State Police and other detective bureaus that evidence in unsolved homicide cases would be reviewed to see if a new forensic or scientific examination would be helpful. Holly Piirainen’s case was one of them. New testing revealed that an item found at the time when Holly’s remains were discovered bore an “indisputable identification” to a person who had a connection with the crime scene area.

According to Mastroianni, David E. Pouliot of Springfield, Mass., was linked to the item at the crime scene. Pouliot died on Aug. 16, 2003 and is not a suspect, officials said. While he’s not a suspect, police are still interested in hearing from the public in case anyone had interacted with Pouliot from 1993 to 2003. Photographs of Pouliot were released.

“Developing as much information as possible about David Pouliot, with the assistance of the public, is vital to fully follow up on this new lead,” said Mastroianni. “The nature and character of the item tested, as well as its condition and location upon discovery, suggests Pouliot and/or persons associated with him were in the immediate crime scene area at a time relevant to Holly’s disappearance and the location of her remains. All evidence and leads previously developed in this case are now being evaluated with consideration given to this new forensic development. Review of all items for further forensic analysis continues to be part of this ongoing investigation.”

The victim, 10-year-old Holly Piirainen

On Aug. 5, 1993, Holly’s father, Richard Piirainen, reported Holly missing around 12:50 p.m. The girl was on vacation with him and other family members in a Sturbridge cottage, and was last seen around 11:45 a.m. by her father. She was off to play with puppies at a home on South Shore Road. Richard Piirainen began searching for his daughter when she did not return, and he then discovered her left sneaker on South Shore Road. An extensive search by local and state police and sheriff’s departments, with help from Connecticut and Rhode Island units, did not bear results. On Oct. 23, hunters discovered Holly’s skeletal remains in a wooded area off Five Bridge Road in Brimfield. State Police photographed and investigated the scene. Any items found at and near the scene were confiscated by the State Police. Police have continued to investigate Holly’s death and disappearance, and to review evidence necessary for forensic analysis and testing.

State Sen. Stephen Brewer and State Rep. Todd Smola are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. Information can be called in to the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit at 413-505-5933, or people can text-a-tip to 274637, beginning with the word “Solve.”

NEW YORK — Friends and family members held a memorial today for Deloris Gillespie, a 73 year-old Brooklynite who was brutally burned alive in her Prospecr Heights building’s elevator on December 17th, on her way back from grocery shopping.

“People from all walks of live showed respects [ at the First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, in Bedford-Stuy, Brooklyn] for a woman who they say did everything she could for others,” according to News12.

Ms. Gillespie had hired Jerome Isaac, 47, who later killed her, to run some errands for her. Unfortunately, Isaac told the police that he believed she still owed him about $2,000 “for odd jobs,” as stated by the New York Times.

Isaac turned himself in the next day and faces charges for first-degree murder and arson.

“The worst way of dying is by fire, because every nerve ending is assaulted simultaneously in the most horrific way,” Mr. Geberth, a retired commander of the Bronx Homicide Task Force said in the New York Times.

“You have someone with pent-up anger and rage that’s so intense they don’t only want to kill, they want to see the victim suffer”

OAK BEACH, N.Y. –  Police investigators of Suffolk County announced last Tuesday that they have likely found the remains of missing 24-year old prostitute, Shannan Gilbert at 9:15 a.m. Gilbert has been missing since last May. Investigators found the body in a dense thicket close to where Gilbert disappeared. The body is thought to be Gilbert’s because searchers found her belongings nearby.

Gilbert disappeared in May 2010 after fleeing a client’s house. Police started finding bodies seven months after her disappearance, most of which were prostitutes. Gilbert’s body was found in the same area on the beach. This coincidence lead to a theory among the investigators that a common serial killer was responsible, but the Suffolk County Police believe otherwise.

According to the New York Daily News, police proposed a scenario where Gilbert stumbled and drowned while escaping the client’s house. “At least three-fourths of a mile on foot through that thick muck and mud, it would be very easy to get exhausted, fall down, and not be able to move further,” said the Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer.

Dormer’s opinion raised skepticism among the other victims’ families. The investigation will continue as a medical examiner will confirm her identity and a reason for her death.

The bodies of Paula Rudolph, her daughter, Caylin Rudolph, and Paula Rudolph’s boyfriend, Frederick Medina, were discovered in their home in Weymouth on Thursday. Paula Rudolph’s son, Donald Rudolph, has been charged with murder for the grisly triple homicide.

Former New England Patriot Ronnie Lippett, who had been sharing his home with 18-year old Donald Rudolph for about a year until July of 2010, said “He was just a disturbed kid who had a lot of issues,” he told The Boston Globe. Rudolph had, apparently, been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Rudolph was discovered climbing out of the house’s basement window after neighbors called the police on account of a “suspicious person” being in the home. Further searching led to the discovery of the victims.

Richard Grimes, Police Chief of Weymouth, described the scene as “gruesome”. Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said there was “evidence of massive trauma”, but cause of death is still unknown.

The death penalty has always been a contested issue in this country. Does any body of power, elected or otherwise, have the right to take the life of someone that they find guilty of a harsh enough crime? Is there too much human error involved in the investigation process to properly say that a defendant is defiantly guilty? Is there any other fitting penalty besides death for the cold blooded murder of another human being? These are the many complicated moral and social comments to be made on this issue, but this being opinion piece we will voice our opinion.

We are for the death penalty in very few select instances, but not in the case of Troy Davis.

In August of 1989, Davis was convicted of the murder of Officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Ga., based on the testimony of witnesses who claimed to have seen Davis shoot the on-duty officer and ballistics evidence. We was sentenced to death in 1991. After a series of appeals and retrials, the sentence was kept in 2010 with the execution scheduled being tonight at 7 p.,. It was delayed after the Supreme Court stepped in, but the High Court has now declined to stop the execution.

The main controversy over the decision comes from the fact that many of the non-police witnesses recanted their testimony through written affidavits, and many named a man named Sylvester Coles as the actual shooter.

The defense of Davis against the death penalty has been taken up by such figures as former President Jimmy Carter, civil rights activist Al Sharpton and Pope Benedict XVI. But despite these notable figures along with thousands of supporters running under the N.A.A.C.P and Amnesty International banners, all appeals for a stay of execution have been denied.

There were failures on both sides of this case. On the side of Davis’ supporters there are a great many accusations of racism against the Georgia court system (Davis is black). Whether or not this is true, it’s a play that weakens the defense of Davis by turning the case from “Has he been falsely accused” to the much more radical and hard to prove question of “He was found guilty because he is black.” This ignores the very real possibility (and we argue probability) that Davis is actually innocent and should not be executed.

An officer was killed in the line of duty, and Davis was simply the most likely suspect. The more-than-reasonable doubt cast by witnesses recanting their testimony is more than enough to stay the execution.

The second effect of the racism argument is it leaves the side that is pushing for his execution fighting against a split defense, with their side only having to defend “Is there enough evidence to find him guilty” and able to ignore the racial bias implications.

Meanwhile, the side that wants Davis put to death has failed in the way the capital punishment enthusiasts usually fail. They have taken the death penalty as an absolute answer and not as absolute last resort.

The evidence against Davis was strong, strong enough to prove his guilt in court and put him in prison for the rest of his life. But the evidence is not definite and certainly not strong enough to stake his life on it.

Signed affidavits, a second suspect, and lack of murder weapon open enough holes in the case where the death penalty seems too definitive of an action to take.

This action cannot be undone.

Barring any last minute and unexpected change of events, Troy Davis will be put to death by lethal injection at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison. In the hours prior, his supporters will make several attempts to save the man’s life and most likely will fail to do so. After his death, Troy Davis will become a name used in many future cases, both for and against suspects facing his fate.

But make no mistake: what really happened here is that a cry for revenge for the murder of a police officer in the south has outweighed a cry for reason in the face of doubt.

Whether Troy Davis actually killed MacPhail or not, the guarantee in the nation that any reasonable doubt must be removed has been betrayed by this outcome.

A jailed Roxbury man hired his former cellmate to murder a state prosecutor, US District Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz alleged in a statement on Monday.

Pernell Powell, 73, was charged with using the United States mail to hire a fellow inmate at the Worcester County House of Corrections to murder a prosecutor, while Powell was being held while awaiting trial for his fifth OUI.

According to Special Agent Michael E. Dwyer, Powell’s former cellmate informed the FBI of the threat.  He wrote a letter to the FBI in July 2011 asking to speak to them about an urgent matter, and then told them that Powell arranged the murder of a prosecutor.

Powell allegedly agreed to pay the inmate a $2,000 down payment, and $2,000 more after the murder was complete.  He planned to pay the inmate through a relative in Florida.

The cellmate planned to take Powell’s down payment and not carry out the murder, but then heard Powell on the phone ordering a money order to the designated parties.

In a conversation caught on tape, Powell said he wanted the prosecutor killed, and told the inmate not to get caught.  The conversation provides the FBI with more than probable cause to believe that Powell is guilty.

If convicted, Powell faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Julaine Jules

A Dorchester man was charged with the 2004 murder of Julaine Jules on Friday by a Suffolk County Grand Jury.

Shabazz Augustine, 32, was charged with first-degree murder for the asphyxiation death of Jules, 26, of Malden.

Jules’ body surfaced in the Charles River, wrapped in plastic bags, on September 19, 2004. The victim left her work place on August 14 and was not seen again.

Officials with the Middlesex and Suffolk District Attorney offices, State Police, and local police launched a long-term investigation and eventually produced a warrant for Augustine’s arrest in late June.

Authorities say that Augustine had “a significant romantic interest” in the victim. It is believed that she was murdered after Augustine learned that Jules had spent the weekend with another man.

The suspect is expected to be arraigned on August 29 in Suffolk Superior Court.

A teen was murdered in Springfield in what police believe to be a gang-related incident.

Tyrel Wheeler, 16, of Springfield fell from a moving vehicle at the intersection of Meredith and Washington Streets after being shot several times at a different location.

The vehicle continued down the street with no driver, and Wheeler tried to chase the car down the street, according to witnesses. He was unable to get in the car and collapsed.

When police arrived at the scene, they found a large amount of blood in the victim’s car.

Wheeler died yesterday at Baystate Medical Center.

This death brings the murder count in Springfield to 11 for this year.

Investigators combed the marsh in Wayland where the body of 18-year-old Lauren Astley was found on the Fourth of July, Boston.com reported.

A spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. did not say what police were looking for.

Astley graduated from Wayland High School only a few weeks ago. Her ex-boyfriend, Nathaniel Fujita, has been charged with killing her, possible in his family’s garage, by cutting her throat and wrapping a bungee cord around her neck.

Fujita, also 18, pleaded not guilty earlier this week to first degree murder.

Whitey Bulger pleaded not guilty to all charges in a 32-count indictment during his arraignment in South Boston on Wednesday.

Families of alleged victims looked on as Bulger denied guilt in the slayings of their loved ones as a part of the RICO enterprise.

“The ball is starting to roll,” said Thomas Donahue, son of Bulger victim Michael Donahue.

Donahue expressed optimism that the case is underway, but remained solemn overall. Family members of victims Debra Davis and Michael Milano joined the Donahues at the arraignment.

The Milano family were the subjects of a second hearing simultaneous to Bulger’s arraignment, but in a different courtroom. The family asked the court for a piece of the $800,000 in cash found in Bulger’s apartment.

The court ruled that the Milanos must wait until the criminal case is over to get money.

Former State Police Colonel Tom Foley also attended the trial. Foley investigated the Bulger case for years.

“All of us feel a lot of satisfaction that we can finally bring him to justice after all these years,” Foley said to the press outside the courthouse.

Foley also said that FBI informants should be chosen “from the bottom up.”

“It’s not the way to handle informants…with top echelon informants, you don’t have murderers out on the street giving out people down below,” he said. “That’s the way an investigation should be conducted, not authorizing people or giving people in that position at the top the green light to go out and do whatever they have to do, and that’s what happened in this case.”

Bulger’s lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr. said that he has no idea how long the trial will take, but indicated that it may move slowly due to the sheer volume of the case.

Carney also said that he will receive help from Janice Bassil and the 13 other lawyers in his firm.

“[Bassil] will be fully my co-counsel on the trial,” Carney said, despite a ruling that Bassil would not be officially appointed to the case.

Bulger’s next appearance in court is scheduled for September 14 for a status conference.

Although this is a slow start, it is a relief for many people.

“Seeing him walk in handcuffs, a broken man, was some sort of satisfaction for me,” Foley said.

Reporting from the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in South Boston.

Prosecutors accused a Wayland teen today of cutting the throat of his former girlfriend, Lauren Astley, 18, after a search of his family’s home yielded blood stained clothing and blood stains in the garage.

Nathaniel Fujita, 18, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder in court today. The former Wayland High School football player was ordered held without bail.

According to Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr., Astley recently ended her and Fujita’s three year relationship on seemingly friendly terms.

“We do believe this to be a case of teen dating violence,’’ Leone said. “Lauren broke off the relationship…It’s a classic fatal paradigm that we see around teen dating relationships.’’

Astley’s body was found in a marsh off Route 27 on Monday morning by a bicyclist.

The victim had a “gaping incision to the neck,” and with at least one bungee cord around her neck, Middlesex Assistant District McGovern said in court.

“There was a strong case of premeditated murder … and attempts to cover up with what he had done,’’ McGovern said in court about Fujita.

The suspect was questioned by the police three times, most recently at 7 a.m. on Monday, right before Astley’s body was found.

Fujita admitted to meeting Astley at his home, but said she was alive when she left.

Police searched the Fujita family home after Astley was reported missing on Sunday night and found bloody evidence, including sneakers and clothing hidden in a crawlspace in Fujita’s bedroom, according to McGovern.

William Sullivan, Fujita’s attorney, said the suspect knew police were investigating him since Sunday and made no attempt to flee.

Fujita is supposed to attend Trinity College in Connecticut this fall. Astley was set to attend Elon University in North Carolina to study business.

Astley’s father, Malcolm Astley, said she went missing around 8 p.m. on Sunday after working a closing shift at Shop344 in the Natick Collection. She reportedly went to the Wayland town beach after work, but never called home to check in.

“The more time went on, the more worried I became,” Mr. Astley said.

The victim’s father declined to speculate about what might have happened to his daughter in a Boston Globe article.

Casey Anthony has been found not guilty of nearly all charges relating to the death of her daughter, Caylee.

Anthony, 25, had been charged with seven counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to a law-enforcement officer in Caylee’s 2008 disappearance and death.

A jury only found her guilty of giving false information, in a long trial that often rose to a public spectacle only comparable to the O.J. Simpson trial.

Anthony shed tears as the verdicts were read and verified at around 2:15 p.m. She walked into the courtroom wearing a pink shirt, with her hair pulled back. She stood with her lawyers, often biting her lip as the proceedings unfolded.

The jury took 10 hours and 40 minutes to find its verdict after a 33-day trial.

Anthony had faced the death penalty if convicted of murder. The four counts of providing false information are only misdemeanor offenses and carry minimal jail time.

She will be sentenced Thursday. It is possible that she may only receive probation.

After a 23 year search, a man was indicted in the murder of his girlfriend in the West Roxbury area known as the Grove, according to Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

Michael Coker, 48, was arrested today for the murder of 20 year-old Janet Phinney in 1988. Phinney was found strangled in a wooded area behind her home.

“Homicide detectives, Suffolk County prosecutors and the Phinney family have been seeking justice for Janet for more than 20 years,” Davis said. “The dogged efforts of the Cold Case Squad, the painstaking re-examination of the evidence by the BPD Crime Lab and the relentless dedication of prosecutors made this indictment possible. My hope is that this significant development provides Janet’s family with some sense of peace.”

Phinney was working as a hairstylist and a waitress at the time of her murder. She lived with her parents and was discovered dead by a neighbor after her parents had filed a missing persons report.

Officials suspected the victim’s ex-boyfriend, Coker, but did not have enough evidence until recently to charge him.

“Today, after more than 20 years of uncertainty, Janet Phinney’s family members received the news that their loved one’s murderer has been indicted and arrested,” Conley said. “Whether it’s days, weeks, months or years, the message here is that we will never quit in our pursuit of justice.”

Boston Police Department’s Cold Case Squad reopened the Phinney case in 2010, enhanced by new forensic technology involving DNA samples.

In a turn of events, a man who has been on the run since May 21, when he was suspected to have stabbed 32-year-old Carlos E. Beslanga in the chest, turned himself in to the Springfield police yesterday around 9 a.m.

Luis Manuel Cintron, 37, was arraigned yesterday, charged with Beslanga’s murder. He was ordered held without bail.

A birthday party turned deadly in September 2009 and ended in the shooting of a young woman, Paula Castillo. The case was brought to life again this morning at the trial of her alleged killers.

Castillo’s friends threw a party for her 18th birthday at 28 Hillis Road, which Ruben Sanchez,21, Miguel Vasquez,20, and Andres Brea, 21, attended. These three suspects engaged in a verbal argument with the party’s hostess and were asked to leave.

The suspects complied and left the party, but upon reaching Brea’s car, Sanchez pulled out a revolver and began firing shots at the house, with the other two suspects’ encouragement, according to Jennifer Hickman, assistant district attorney.

The shots hit Castillo, who was leaning out a window at 28 Hillis Road, who was found by police “lying on the ground in a pool of blood,” according to Hickman.

“It wasn’t supposed to end with the death of a young woman,” a Suffolk County prosecutor told the Superior Court this morning about the party.

An off duty police officer witnessed the incident from his nearby home and reported it to the District E-18 police station.

He recalled that “the shooter – Mr. Sanchez – get into that vehicle, observed the vehicle drive a short distance, make a U-turn, and stop in front of 28 Hillis Road for one final round let off from the front seat passenger,” according to prosecutors.

The officer did not see Castillo get shot.

Police were able to get accounts from witnesses at the party, which led to the arrests of the three suspects.

Officers found a revolver in the trunk of Brea’s car, and Sanchez tested positive for gunshot residue.

Sanchez is charged with second-degree murder, Vasquez is charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon and Brea is charged with being an accessory after the fact to assault by means of a dangerous weapon.

All three defendants are also being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm

SPRINGFIELD — Police responded to an alleyway in Springfield on Saturday where they found a man fatally stabbed in the chest.

Carlos Gonzalez Beslanga, 32, of Newington, Conn., suffered the fatal stab wound that pierced his heart and a lung in the alleyway between 62 and 66 Cumberland Street at 4:30 p.m. after he angered a man on the street by urinating in the alley, according to Police Sergeant John Delaney.

Beslanga and the man argued until the suspect pulled out a large knife and stabbed Beslanga.

The victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Captain Peter Dillon and Lieutenant Trent Duda of the Springfield Police Department are looking to arrest Luis Cintron, 37, and Noemy Ramos, 33, both of 66 Cumberland Street, for the murder. Both suspects are considered armed and dangerous, according to Sgt. John Delaney.

Investigators determined that the victim was visiting his mother on Cumberland Street when the homicide occurred. This is the eighth homicide in Springfield this year.

Massachusetts State Police took a Texas woman into custody on Wednesday at a highway rest stop in Chelmsford in connection with the death of her son.

Julianne McCrery of Irving, Texas was detained on Interstate 495 southbound and questioned by investigators from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

She has since been charged with second degree murder.

Her young son, Camden Pierce Hughes, was found dead on a secluded road in South Berwick, Maine, on Saturday.

According to police, McCrery killed her son in New Hampshire and dumped the body in Maine.

The cause of the young boy’s death was preliminarily determined to be asphyxiation, according to police.

David Procopio, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman, said McCrery was transported to a local hospital for “medical evaluation” late Wednesday afternoon, and that “a development” in the case had placed it under the jurisdiction of the New Hampshire attorney general’s office.

McCrery was picked up after State Police received a tip from a citizen that at 10:20 a.m. a pickup truck was parked at the Chelmsford rest stop that looked like the vehicle seen near the location where Hughes’ body was dumped, according to Procopio.

The vehicle is being examined at a State Police facility in Danvers.

Spurred by a naval insignia near the license plate of the vehicle, Maine authorities had asked the military to help with the case. International law enforcement agents were also called in, as authorities could not identify the boy for several days.

Three New Hampshire men have been arrested and charged in connection with the killing of Krista Dittmeyer, the 20-year-old mother whose body was found earlier this month in a pond.

Robbery appears to be the motive, police said.

Anthony Papile, age 28, of Ossipee has been charged with second degree murder, and Trevor Ferguson, age 23, of Tamworth and Michael Petelis, age 28, of Ossipee have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, said New Hampshire Attorney General Michael A. Delaney, in a statement Wednesday morning.

Arraignments have been scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Ossipee District Court.

Dittmeyer’s car and infant daughter were abandoned in a New Hampshire ski resort parking lot. The car was still running and had its hazard lights flashing. Her body was found days later.

LOS ANGELES — The man who calls himself “Clark Rockefeller” has been charged with the 1985 murder of a California man.

The Boston Globe reports that Christian K. Gerhartsreiter, 50, a German national, is accused of murdering 27-year-old John Sohus, 27, of San Marino, Calif.

Prosecutors there are now seeking Gerhartsreiter’s extradition from Massachusetts.

Gerhartsreiter was convicted in the much-publicized parental abduction case that brought his mysterious and apparently violent past into the spotlight.

He was convicted of orchestrating the kidnapping of his daughter in Boston during a visit a few years ago.

According to the Globe, Sohus disappeared in early 1985. After that, a man named Christopher Chichester who lived in his guest house also vanished. Police believe “Chichester” was Gerhartsreiter.

Sohus’s body was found in May 1994.

According to the Globe, prosecutors will ask for bail of $10 million for Gerhartsreiter when he is arraigned.

Worcester police are investigating the death of a 21-year-old local man, found dead in Crompton Park, near I-290, Sunday morning.

According to Worcester Police Sergeant Kerry Hazelhurst, the body of the victim, identified as Kevin J. Shavies, was found by police around 9:05 a.m. He had been shot once in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police believe he was shot around 2 a.m.

Police released few other details on the killing. Shavies was the sixth homicide victim in Worcester this year.

“This investigation is ongoing as Detectives are working on establishing a motive to the killing,” Hazelhurst said. “If anyone has information about this incident they can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or send an anonymous web base message to worcesterma.gov/police. Calls can also be made at the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at 508-799-8651.”

MILTON — The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy Tuesday on the body of a young man found butchered on an upscale street.

But officials, even with results in hand, still don’t know how the young black male met his demise.

“Following that examination, the OCME has informed the Norfolk District Attorney’s office that the cause and manner of death in this case remain undetermined pending additional testing, including toxicology testing,” said David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk District Attorney’s office.

The man’s identity was still unknown late Tuesday.

The victim was found outside a home on Brierbrook Road, and additional body parts were found several feet away. Police said he may have been run over by a street sweeper after he was dumped on the road. Brierbook is a secluded, dark street with large single-family homes lined by trees.

Passersby found the victim around 9:30 p.m. Monday. Police were on scene all night, into Tuesday, as state and local authorities investigated.

Police do not believe the killing is connected to any activity in Milton, a normally quiet and safe town. The body was found in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in the town.

Milton does border the troubled Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, where homicides and gang violence have spiked this year.

In March 2009, Milton was rocked in one of the most horrible incidents of violence in recent memory on the South Shore, when 23-year-old Kerby Revelus murdered two of his sisters, decapitating his 5-year-old sister Bianca and nearly killing a third sister before police shot and killed him.

An Auburn, N.H. man has been charged with murder after his wife and son were found dead in their home earlier this week.

Christopher Smeltzer, 37, was charged with second-degree murder after police said he killed his wife, Mara Pappalardo, 39 either Sunday or Monday.

Their 4-year-old son, whose name was not released, was also found dead.

Police had been quiet for more than a day after the bodies were found.

Autopsies revealed that Pappalardo died of blunt force trauma to the head and ligature strangulation and that the son was also strangled. Both deaths were ruled homicides.

But Smeltzer was not charged with his son’s death.

Smeltzer and the couple’s 7-year-old daughter, whose name was not released either, were treated at a Manchester hospital yesterday for non-life threatening injuries. Police did not say if they think Smeltzer killed his son, hurt his daughter, and/or hurt himself.

Smeltzer is expected to be arraigned in the Candia District Court tomorrow.

Steven Spader, 19, was found guilty Tuesday of murdering a woman and maiming her 11-year-old daughter in secluded Mont Vernon, N.H. last year.

The jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting Spader on all charges.

Spader will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Spader and other teens charged into the home of local nurse Kimberly Cates on October 9, 2009, butchering her with a machete and severely injuring her daughter, Jaimie.

Christopher Gribble, also of Brookline, N.H., who allegedly cut Cates’s throat in the final, fatal blow, will face murder charges next year.

A 20-year-old Everett man was arrested Tuesday, charged with fatally stabbing another man on Main Street, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Everett Police Chief Steven Mazzie said.

Jamar Leaston was charged with murder and assault and battery. He will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Malden District Court.

Police issued a warrant for Leaston’s arrest after two days of investigation. He was found on Fulton Street in Malden.

“This is another tragic example of people resorting to violence through weapons to deal with conflict, resulting in serious and fatal consequences,” Leone said. “Our thoughts remain with Mr. Mackay’s family and his loved ones as we continue to investigate the full circumstances that led to a life being taken at the hands of another.”

At 10 p.m. Sunday, police responded to 410 Main St. in Everett where they found Nicholas Mackay, 29, of Everett, mortally wounded. He was pronounced dead at Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett.

A Providence man was arrested there Tuesday morning and charged with murder, home invasion and armed robbery in the June attack on an Attleboro home, said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter.

Jose Polanco, 23, is scheduled to be arraigned in Providence District Court on a charge of being a fugitive from justice, where police will arrange to extricate him to Massachusetts.

“The arrest today resulted from an intensive, almost five month long investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory, the Attleboro Police Department and the Providence Police Department,” Miliote said. “In particular, District Attorney Sutter would like to commend Attleboro Police Detective James Cote. Detective Cote’s tremendous efforts and investigative work have allowed us to take this important step in seeking justice in this case.”

Attleboro Police arrived at 508 Washington St. at about 5:30 a.m. on June 23, where they found Dylan Adams, 24, fatally wounded. We died later at Sturdy Memorial Hospital.

Adams had been beaten and show and his 25-year-old girlfriend was also seriously injured.

“Although today marks just the first step in the legal process, nevertheless with all of the time and energy and diligence that went into this investigation, I would like to congratulate those prosecutors from my office, and the detectives from Attleboro Police and my State Police Unit, who have been involved in this case,” Sutter said. “And I would like to single out Detective James Cote, who threw his heart and soul into this investigation, and did it with great skill and effectiveness.”

A 50-year-old Chelsea woman was found dead in her driveway early Tuesday morning, and her husband has been arrested for beating her, police said.

A passerby found Theresa Wilkes lying in the driveway of her home at 123 Maverick St. around 6 a.m., said Captain Keith Houghton, a Chelsea Police spokesman.

Shortly after Wilkes was found, an investigation led police to her husband, Frederick Wilkes, 54. While Houghton did not detail the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, he said that Frederick was arrested for domestic assault and battery on his wife. He will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Chelsea District Court.

Police have a history with the Wilkes family. On September 16, Frederick was arrested for assaulting his wife with a dangerous weapon. Theresa did not pursue a restraining order at the time, police said.

According to police, alcohol was involved in Theresa’s death, both for her and Frederick.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said State Troopers from their office are investigating. Conley investigates unattended deaths in Chelsea and other parts of Suffolk County, including state property in Boston.

An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is expected to determine the cause of death.

After a homicide-free year in 2009, Chelsea has had at least a half dozen homicides.

This latest death follows a startling trend of domestic homicides all over Massachusetts.

Convicted murderer Steven Hayes was sentenced to death on Monday for the horrific home invasion of a Cheshire, Conn. home that left three people dead.

Hayes was convicted last month in the strangling of a woman with her two daughters tied to beds, doused in gasoline, and left to die in a fire.

After four days of deliberations, the jury that convicted Hayes unanimously decided to send him to death row.

Lawyers for Hayes tired to avoid the death penalty by portraying him as a drug addict who never committed violence until the 2007 home invasion. They also case blame on co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky, saying he masterminded the break-in.

Hayes’s lawyers also said he was sorry for the acts and wished for death.

Connecticut has only executed one prisoner since 1960.

In the 2007 home invasion, the two men allegedly broke into the home of Dr. William Petit, beat him nearly to death, and forced his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, to take money out of her bank account while the rest of the family was kept home. Hayes then, according to prosecutors, sexually assaulted and strangled her.

Komisarjevsky will be tried next year. He is charged with sexually assaulting their 11-year-old daughter, Michaela.

Michaela and her 17-year-old sister, Hayley, were tied up and had gasoline poured over them. They died of smoke inhalation in a fire the two men allegedly set.

It was one of the worst acts of violence in recent Connecticut history. Governor Jodi Rell used the case as an example when she vetoed a recent bill to abolish the death penalty there.

Three young people were indicted Tuesday by a Suffolk County Grand Jury, charged with first-degree murder in the brutal slaying of 58-year-old pizza deliveryman Richel Nova in Hyde Park.

The indictments charge Alexander Gallett, 18, of Hyde Park, his girlfriend, Yamiley Mathurin, 17, of Mattapan, and Michel St. Jean, 20, of Hyde Park, with first-degree murder, armed robbery, and breaking and entering for the death of Nova shortly after midnight on September 3.

Gallett, Mathurin, and St. Jean will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The trio allegedly called for a Domino’s Pizza to be delivered to the vacant house at 742 Hyde Park Ave. Nova arrived to make the delivery and was allegedly lured inside by Mathurin and butchered to death, with stabs to the chest, back, and throat.

His assailants stole the food, his cash, his keys, and his vehicle, which they allegedly used to make their escape. Police said the three actually ate the dead man’s pizza after killing him.

They are being held without bail.

MIAMI — Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents on Wednesday arrested Pedro Antonio Martinez Escobar a.k.a. Pedro A. Martinez, 37, who is wanted in Honduras for murder.

Martinez Escobar was taken into custody without incident in Miami, where he was living in the country illegally. He had been previously deported, but ICE said he made his way back to the country four times after getting continually kicked out.

“Criminals who think that they can use the United States as a safe haven are sorely mistaken,” said Anthony V. Mangione, special agent in charge of ICE in Miami. “ICE is committed to ensuring the integrity of our nation’s immigration system. As such, it is one of our top priorities to locate foreign fugitives hiding in the United States and turn them over to our foreign law enforcement partners to face justice in their native countries.”

Martinez Escobar was born in Olancho, Honduras. He entered the US illegally in 1994 and was deported after being caught in San Antonio, Texas by the federal agency then called Immigration and Naturalization Service on December 14, 1997. He was removed a second time in 1999 after he was captured in Laredo, Texas. We was captured again on August 17, 2003 and May 1, 2008.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego police have rearrested a man suspected in the killing of 14-year-old Ahlyja Pinson in 2007.

Antero Cruz, 23, was booked Thursday night on a murder warrant, with bail set at $1 million. He was held at the San Diego County Jail.

Ahlyja was found dead in the basement of a vacant home at 2900 E St. on December 31, 2007. A homeless man had found her and called 911.

Cruz, an acquaintance of Pinson, was originally arrested ten days after the teen was found beaten and stabbed. His arraignment was canceled pending further investigation, but he was held in jail for violating a 2006 car theft conviction. He was later released.

The case has been reviewed regularly and new evidence links Cruz to the murder. He is set to be arraigned Monday in San Diego Superior Court.

In their first day of deliberations, jurors found Xzeniyeju Chukwuezi guilty of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm on Tuesday.

He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at 2 p.m.

Chukwuezi, of Roxbury, was tried for the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Soheil Turner as he waited for a bus to school around 7 a.m. on May 7, 2009.

“A 15-year-old boy’s life was snuffed out as he did what thousands of teenagers do every day,” said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “He stood waiting for a bus to school. His life and all his potential ended when a coward walked up and shot him in the head for no good reason at all.”

The case garnered massive media attention last year because of the boy’s age and the public location of the murder, which occurred in broad daylight on busy Dudley Street.

Shortly after 7 a.m., prosecutors said, Chukwuezi crossed the street and started talking to the younger boy, Turner.

“Turner showed no outward signs of apprehension during that verbal exchange. Soon, with no provocation, hesitation, or warning, Chukwuezi reached into his pocket, produced the handgun, and fired twice. One shot went straight through Turner’s head, killing him,” Prosecutors said.

The entire exchange was captured by surveillance cameras.

After less than a day of deliberations, a Suffolk County jury found Sultan Omar Chezulu, formerly known as Robert Louis Scott, 62, guilty of first-degree murder for the 1984 homicide of Elsie “Yolanda” Hernandes in Roxbury.

He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is automatic in first-degree murder convictions. His case will also be automatically appealed.

According to officials, Chezulu was identified as a suspect in the 18-year-old girl’s cold case homicide after DNA evidence was developed from decades-old crime scene evidence.

Chezulu raped, beat, and strangled the victim to death, attacking her as she walked to a friend’s house from work through a garbage-strewn field off of Washington Street.

Steven Hayes, 47, was found guilty Tuesday in the deadly home invasion that left a woman and her two daughters brutalized and murdered.

According to ABC News, the jury deliberated for several hours before finding Hayes guilty of 16 of the 17 counts he faced. Hayes was convicted of six capital crimes, including the murder and kidnapping of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, all of which are punishable by execution.

The same jury will now decide if he will face the death penalty.

As the verdict was read, Dr. William Petit, who was the only survivor of the slaughter, clutched his sister but remained stoic. Relatives of his slain wife wept while Hayes hung his head.

Hayes was quickly handcuffed and led out of the courtroom by officers.

As he left the courthouse, Petit thanked the jury for their “appropriate verdict” and said he and his family had kept their “faith in God that justice would be served.”

State and local police are investigating a fatal shooting Wednesday night in Revere.

Police responded shortly after 7 p.m. The victim, identified only as a man in his 20s, was killed on Reservoir Avenue. His name was withheld pending notification of family, said Jake Wark, a spokesman the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

No arrests have been made. Authorities did not release any details on a possible motive or suspect.

Two men have been indicted for the May 8 shooting death of a 14-year-old honor’s student.

Timothy “Toolman” Hearns, of Dorchester, and Ramon “Double R” Silvelo-Miles, both 20, face murder charges for allegedly gunning down Jaewon Martin at a basketball court near the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Heath Street, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

The indictments come down after a four-month investigation led by the DA’s office at the Boston Police Department.

The shooting was a senseless crime, as Martin was not tied to any gang activity or disputes in the neighborhood, police have said.

The two suspects are also charged with three counts of armed assault with intent to murder for allegedly attempting to murder another teenage boy and two teenage girls who were also at the scene. They allegedly shot one of those victims, and they face an additional count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and fired at but missed two of those victims, incurring two additional charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, Conley said.

Hearns is charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition; Silvelo-Miles is charged as a joint venturer in the shootings but not with physical possession of the firearm.

Both men are expected to be arraigned tomorrow at Suffolk Superior Court tomorrow morning.

In Boston’s worst multiple-murder in at least half a decade, four people, including a 2 or 3-year-old toddler, were gunned down on Woolson Street in Mattapan early Tuesday morning.

The shooting follows a continuing trend of innocent children being gunned down on the streets.

“We know who you are. Cowards kill. Cowards use guns to settle their scores. Cowards hide. Mattapan is strong and will not let them hide,” an angry Mayor Thomas M. Menino said Tuesday.

The other victims were adults. A fifth victim, another adult, was on life support and is not expected to survive.

“I think we share the same horror, the same outrage, and the same unwavering commitment to see justice done,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “There can be no justification for what happened at Woolson Street. There can be no excuse for aiding the person or persons who murdered a helpless child.”

Officials promised to bring every asset to bear on the Mattapan neighborhood to find those responsible for the worst shooting since four men were killed in the basement of a home on Bourneside Street in Dorchester in December 2005.

“We will not rest until the facts are known,” Conley said.

Police did not speak to any possible motive for the killings.

“In our experience, though, violence of this magnitude is not committed randomly,” Conley said. “There is usually some connection between the victims and the killers. For this reason, we believe that there may be people out there with helpful information and, again, we urge them to come forward. The call is free and you may remain anonymous. In light of these horrible facts, silence is not a moral option."

The Boston Globe reported on Saturday that Boston has seen a 32 percent increase in homicides this year compared to this time last year.

Officials urged neighbors to call police with any information and not to seek vengeance directly.

"Now is not the time for vengeance or retaliation. Investigators are proceeding carefully and deliberately as they gather evidence, not only to identify the killer or killers but also to ensure that everything they gather will support a conviction down the road,” Conley said. “That’s where accountability lies — not in the street with vengeance and retaliation. We’re imploring the public to join us and share whatever they might know, whatever they might have seen or heard, with investigators.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Boston Police CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, text the word "TIP" to CRIME (27463), or contact the Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470. You may remain anonymous.

Two men have been arrested in Worcester in connection with an August 24 fatal shooting.

William Madison, 23, and Cassie Ago, 24, were issued after a Worcester County grand jury indicted them for accessory before the fact to commit armed robbery and murder, police said in a statement.

The arrests are part of the investigation into the death of 21-year-old Michelle Diaz, who was gunned down as she sat in her car on Fairfax road. Diaz died several days after the shooting, police said.

Worcester police detectives are still looking for other suspects, including the actual shooter.

A dead Boston man has been named as the prime suspect of a 1972 murder in Boston’s Back Bay, local police reported Wednesday.

Michael Sumpter died of cancer in 2001 while serving a 15- to 20-year sentence on an unrelated rape committed in 1975. In 2002, DNA evidence connected Sumpter to the 1985 rape of a 21-year-old woman on Marlboro street. Three years later, the family of a deceased woman names Ellen Rutchick, 23, contacted the Boston Police Department’s Cold Case Squad to see if Rutchick’s murder could be reviewed, as no one had yet been convicted.

Rutchick was also sexually assaulted on the day of her death, so the police department sent evidence from the crime scene to an independent laboratory for analysis. The analysis yielded a genetic profile, which, in 2009, matched Sumpter’s.

"Today’s announcement marks another success for the Boston Police Cold Case Squad while also hopefully providing the Rutchick family with a long-awaited sense of peace and justice for their loved one," says Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis.

His colleague, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, says the evidence is strong enough to hold up in court. "Were Sumpter alive today, we would indict him for murder and expect to prevail at trial.”

A 16-year-old Turkish girl found dead in a hole last December was probably buried alive, judging by the amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, authorities claim, the BBC reports.

Medine Memi may have been the victim of an “honor killing.” An “honor killing” takes place after one family member commits an act that serves to dishonor the rest of the family. Members of the family then kill the one who committed the act, as defense of honor is seen as a justifiable reason for murder. Memi’s father and grandfather have been arrested, but not yet charged.

Memi’s neighbor noticed she’d been missing for a month before calling the police. Officers then visited Memi’s house, and found her body “in a hole, newly covered with concrete, next to the hen-house,” the BBC reports. She was found dead with her hands tied behind her back and minor bruises on her body.

Memi lived in Kahta, Turkey, a heavily conservative and religious south-east town. The BBC reports that while many “honor killings” are carried out by muslims in Turkey, the practice has more to do with the regional customs of this mainly Kurdish town than with religion. Apparently, if a female child is seen even speaking to a boy, there is “strong peer pressure from the community on the male members of the family to restore their honor.”

The United Nations Population Fund estimates the number of worldwide “honor killings” at 5,000 per year. Both men and women are targeted, though women are much more often victims. According to the Turkish prime minister’s office, there were 16 honor killings in Adiyaman, the province where Memi lived, between 2003 and 2007.

A new policy regarding privately-owned firearms is now in effect at Fort Hood, Texas, U.S. Army reports.

All resident service people and their families must now report any personally-owned firearms. Those residing temporarily on the base are required to do the same.

Servicemembers living or residing temporarily on the base must also report to the Directorate of Emergency Service any sale, purchase, trade, gift, exchange or any action that changes ownership of a privately-owned firearm. Those servicemembers residing in the barracks must report and stow their personal firearms in their unit’s arms room.

The new policy took effect on Dec. 15 and “applies to all III Corps and Fort Hood servicemembers, major subordinate units, tenant activities and family members across Fort Hood,” Fort Hood reports.

On Nov. 5, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan open-fired in Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center, killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. He was shot by a civilian officer and is now charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.