A judge ruled Monday that the man charged in the triple killing that rocked the Newton, Massachusetts, community in June is "not competent" to stand trial at this time due to mental illness.
Following Newton District Court Judge Jennifer Quealy's decision, 41-year-old Christopher Ferguson will remain at Bridgewater State Hospital, the psychatric facility where he was already being held.
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After reading through a competency evaluation completed last week, prosecutors said during a Zoom hearing Monday that they couldn't meet the burden to determine competency.
Ferguson, who appeared from Bridgewater State Hospital via videoconference for Monday's hearing, is scheduled for a probable cause hearing on Oct. 10. But both prosecutors and defense lawyer Dmitry Lev indicated during Monday's proceedings that they expect Ferguson to be indicted by a Superior Court grand jury before then, in which case the district court case would be dropped.
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Monday's ruling does not mean that Ferguson won't stand trial for the June 25 killings. Lev told The Boston Globe that Ferguson’s competency will be reevaluated every six months or so, and his competency to stand trial could change.
“If he is found to have regained competency, either because he was treated or medicated, his case would then continue along the regular path toward a criminal trial,” he said.
Ferguson was arrested on June 26, a day after the killings of 73-year-old Jill D'Amore, her 74-year-old husband Bruno D'Amore and her 97-year-old mother Lucia Arpino. Jill and Bruno D'Amore were supposed to be renewing their wedding vows for their 50th anniversary at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church on the day they were killed.
Ferguson pleaded not guilty at his initial court appearance in June.
The three victims were found by a close friend and neighbor, who called 911 after discovering the bodies in a bedroom. Responding officers found the three dead inside their home on Broadway Street in Newton, having apparently suffered from blunt force trauma and stab wounds, according to authorities.
Law enforcement also noted signs of forced entry.
Ferguson was arrested after forensic analysis of ceramic tile outside the bedroom showed bloody prints of bare feet, according to prosecutors. The footprints led authorities to arrest Ferguson, who was identified after being seen in surveillance footage walking shirtless with no shoes and "what appeared to be a staggering gait" on Albermarle Road, less than a mile from the crime scene and about 100 yards from his own home on Washington Street, according to prosecutors.
Investigators have said they believe the attack on the family was random. Ferguson did not appear to have any connection to the victims.
A letter from family members, sent out by the Sacred Heart and Our Lady's Collaborative, described the victims as an integral part of the church community and longtime members.
"It is with a heavy heart that we share that the terrible tragedy that happened yesterday in Newton hit very close to home…impacting our faith community and our own family," read a letter the church shared from two people who work there, who identified themselves as the cousins of the D'Amores and niece and nephew of Arpino.
Jill was described as spending "endless hours in the care of our church," gardening and managing the grounds and other beautification. Bruno was said to be known for his "big voice and his exuberant personality," especially when he stood in as chef flipping burgers at the parish picnic.
According to the church, the D'Amores leave behind three children and five grandchildren.
