Christopher Ferguson appears is in a local media broadcast after a triple murder in the Boston area in late June 2023. (Screengrab via WBZ)
Authorities in Massachusetts have made an arrest in the weekend massacre of an elderly family who were killed inside their own home just before they were set to celebrate a vow renewal at their church.
Christopher Ferguson, 41, stands accused of murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and burglary over the Sunday morning deaths of Gilda D’Amore, 73, her husband Bruno D’Amore, 74 and the wife’s mother, Lucia Arpino, 97.
The preliminary investigation of the house on Broadway Street “indicated some signs of forced entry including broken glass and missing screens at the basement windows,” the Newton Police Department said in a press release on Monday evening.
All of the victims had been beaten and stabbed, police said.
Forensic evidence was collected from the residence by specialists with the Massachusetts Crime Scene Section, the NPD said. Investigators also canvassed the neighborhood and found the key piece of evidence that led to Ferguson’s arrest – a “video from Albemarle Road that depicted a male walking in that area, which is four-tenths of a mile from the victim’s home, at 5:20 a.m. on June 25.”
But it wasn’t just the defendant’s early morning walk that connected him to the horrific slaughter, police said.
Investigators found “bloody, bare footprints” on a tiled hallway floor outside of a bedroom in the house where a struggle appeared to have taken place, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a press conference on Monday evening.
“Like fingerprints, the skin of people’s feet is unique and leaves an impression that can be compared as well,” the DA added.
Late Monday afternoon, one of those collected footprints was determined to be a match for the defendant, the NPD said.
According to Ryan, the video depicting Ferguson showed him shirtless, with no shoes, and “what appeared to be a staggering gait.” The defendant, known to local law enforcement, had been hospitalized since Sunday and was arrested late Monday, the DA added.
“Late this afternoon, the lab was able to match one of those footprints taken from the tile hallway floor to an impression taken from Mr. Ferguson,” Ryan said. “That is what led to obtaining the warrant.”
The DA noted that only one count of murder has been filed so far – based on the death of Gilda D’Amore. Only her autopsy had been completed by the time the arrest warrant was issued for Ferguson, authorities said. She had suffered in excess of 30 stab and blunt force trauma wounds. Additional charges are anticipated.
Law enforcement also found “broken furniture and a crystal paperweight covered in blood,” Ryan added.
The additional autopsies are expected to be finished by Tuesday. Ferguson’s arraignment could occur on Tuesday or Wednesday, the DA said.
On the day they were killed, the D’Amores were scheduled to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary at Our Lady of Help Christians Parish. A fellow parishioner noticed the family had not made it to church for mass or the planned commemoration and grew concerned. She called police late Sunday morning after visiting the home and making the horrible, shocking discovery.
Law enforcement has said they believe the killings were random, saying they had no information connecting Ferguson to the family.
“We will bring a violent criminal to justice,” Newton Police Chief John Carmichael said on Monday. “We will seek justice for the victims and hopefully provide at least a little bit of solace for this family.”
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