Community members came together Wednesday after the killings of three people in a Newton home this weekend.
The three victims of a triple killing in Newton, Mass., a crime that rocked the quiet community last week, will be laid to rest this week.
Jill D’Amore, 73, and her husband Bruno D’Amore, 74, were found dead in their home in Newton, along with Jill's 97-year-old mother, Lucia Arpino, after they failed to show up for a celebration of Jill and Bruno's 50th wedding anniversary at Our Lady Help of Christians Church. They were victims of what investigators believe was a random crime.
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According to the obituaries posted by the Andrew J. Magni and Son Funeral Home, visiting hours for all three will be at their church, Our Lady Help of Christians Church on Washington Street, on Wednesday, July 5 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be the following day at 10:30 a.m. The entombment will be private.
Christopher Ferguson, 41, of Newton, pleaded not guilty last week in Newton District Court to a murder charge in the death of Jill D’Amore, along with two counts of assault and one count of burglary. Additional charges are expected in the deaths of Bruno D'Amore and Arpino after those autopsies are completed. He is being held without bail pending a probable cause hearing scheduled for July 25.
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Community struggles to make sense of attack
The community has been reeling since the family was discovered dead in their home on the morning of June 25. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said she could not recall another triple killing in the city.
A Mass of Peace was held Tuesday evening, but reporters were not allowed inside. Many came to honor the lives lost and support the family.
"Trying times reveal character, the character of people here is...the love, the faith, the care for each other, they haven't run from the uncomfortable feelings, but rather, have embraced their friends, and I couldn't be more proud of them," said Father Dan Riley, the church's pastor.
Riley added that Cardinal Sean O'Malley of the Boston Archdiocese told the Pope about the story.
"He and the Pope have said individual prayer for this family, the love has been immense," he said.
And on Wednesday hundreds of residents attended a community meeting at the Horace Mann Elementary School auditorium, where a counselor discussed the impacts of this kind of trauma and encouraged anyone experiencing anxiety or other mental health concerns to reach out for help.
Family members remembered the victims in a letter to the church community earlier this week.
“Bruno was known for his big voice and his exuberant personality,” and for being treated as “head chef” at picnics, Paul and Ginny Arpino, who were related to the victims, wrote in the letter.
Jill D’Amore, they said, had taken on the ministry of beautifying the church’s environment.
“Without a single day of liturgical training she simply followed her heart, caring for the flowers and decorating for the liturgical seasons,” they wrote.
And, they wrote, “Lucia will be especially missed on the upcoming Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Festa weekend as she faithfully walked in that procession through the streets of Nonantum well into her 90’s," referring to the heavily Italian American neighborhood where they lived.
The case against Christopher Ferguson
The victims were discovered in a bedroom by a friend shortly after they failed to show up for 10 a.m. Mass on Sunday, prosecutors said. The friend called police, who discovered signs of forced entry through a window. Investigators found bare footprints on the tile floor, along with blood droplets and fingerprints.
Surveillance video from a nearby home showed a man with no shirt or shoes staggering not far from the D'Amores' home shortly before 5:30 a.m., prosecutors said. Several police officers identified the man as Ferguson, whose footprints matched bloody prints found in the home, she said.
Investigators visited Ferguson's father, who acknowledged that a photo they showed him could be his son, according to charging documents. They then visited an ex-girlfriend of Ferguson, who detailed mental health challenges he has faced since February. They finally visited the home he shared with his sister and arrested him, the documents show. Ferguson was taken to Saint Elizabeth's Medical Center for evaluation.
The grisly crimes have led to yet another conversation about mental health treatment.
"It's increasingly clear the alleged perpetrator clearly suffered over many years from mental health challenges and our system let him down," said Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller. "We weren't able to address it, and now we've got a tragedy."
Jill D’Amore had 32 beating and stab wounds to her upper body, including her head and face, prosecutors said in court.
Ferguson was arrested Monday, but it appears he had no connection to the victims, prosecutors said. Investigators have yet to identify a motive in the killings.
Judge Mary Beth Heffernan ordered Ferguson held without bail until a probable cause hearing July 25. During Tuesday’s arraignment, at least eight relatives of the victims listened silently in court as prosecutors detailed their investigation. They left without talking to reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
