A Massachusetts couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary were stabbed to death, along with another family member, in what law enforcement officials said was probably a random attack as they urged community members to remain alert and vigilant in the small city outside Boston.
The bodies were found in a home in Newton when the couple failed to arrive at church Sunday morning, police said. Police worry that the killer or killers may be still at large.
“As we mourn the victims of this senseless, and violent tragedy we ask all members of our community to remain alert and vigilant,” the Newton Police Department tweeted on Monday.
The preliminary investigation indicates that there were signs of forced entry and that the victims were stabbed, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Sunday evening.
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“Two of the individuals were celebrating a golden wedding anniversary this weekend. As you can imagine, this would be tragic on any day. To have family gathered for this kind of a celebration makes it particularly tragic,” Ryan said.
There was an attempted break-in about a half-mile from the victims’ home early Sunday, but it’s unclear if the two crimes were related, Ryan said.
"That’s why we are concerned particularly about the safety issue. That’s why we are asking people if you hear something, you see something, don’t investigate yourself. Call the police department,” Ryan said.
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The investigation is in its early stages, but the apparently random nature of the crime is why authorities are worried about the safety threat to the community, Ryan said. She said Sunday that she could not recall any other triple homicides in Newton's history.
Residents are asked to check their doorbell cameras or home security systems for any video that could help with the investigation.
The news has rattled neighbors like Jack Porter.
"This is a safe neighborhood. You don’t have murders in Newton or Nonantum,” the neighborhood where they lived, he said.
NBC Boston reported that the victims were identified Monday as a husband, wife and her mother in a statement posted online by their church, Sacred Heart and Our Lady's Collaborative.
The statement identified the victims as Jill and Bruno D'Amore as well as Lucia Arpino, Jill D'Amore's mother.
"Many in our faith community are grieving this great loss," the statement said.
According to the church, the D'Amores leave behind three children and five grandchildren.
"Wonderful, salt of the earth people, you know that when bad things happen to good people, this is a really really good people, salt of the earth," said Father Dan Riley in an interview with NBC10 Boston.
