A family member and a couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary were fatally stabbed in what law enforcement officials believe to have been a random attack.
When the couple didn’t show up for church on Sunday morning, the bodies were discovered at a residence in Newton, according to authorities. Police have advised local people to be on the lookout as they fear that the murderer or murderers may still be on the loose.
“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,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Sunday evening.
According to preliminary inquiry, the individuals were stabbed and there were indications of forced entry, Ryan added.
“Their 50th anniversary was to be celebrated in a blessing after communion at the 10 a.m. Mass,” the Rev. Dan Riley, of Our Lady Help of Christians, told WCVB.com. “I can’t go into the details about who discovered them — but we became notified, and myself and a number of the staff spent the day there.”
He described the three people killed as “three beloved parishioners — salt of the earth people, just great, great people.”
Early on Sunday, there was an attempted break-in approximately half a mile from the victims’ house, but Ryan said it’s unclear if the two acts were connected.
