Christopher Ferguson (Facebook)
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NEWTON – Court documents indicate that Christopher Lomax Ferguson, who was arrested Monday for the triple murder on Broadway Street, has a history of mental illness and had been displaying “erratic” behavior prior to the murders.
According to State Trooper Mark Delaney, who submitted a Probable Cause Statement to Newton District Court on Monday in order to obtain a warrant for Ferguson’s arrest, the following facts lead investigators to conclude that Ferguson, 41, of Newton, was responsible for the deaths of Gilda “Jill” D’Amore, 73, her husband, Bruno D’Amore, 74, and Lucia Arpino, Gilda’s 97-year-old mother.
At about 10:14 a.m. on Sunday, June 25, a close friend and neighbor of the D’Amores’ entered their 49 Broadway Street home, where she found all three residents motionless on the floor, covered with severe stab wounds.
“She had grown concerned for the D’Amores when they did not appear at Mass that morning, where they had planned to renew their wedding vows [it was their 50th wedding anniversary],” wrote Trooper Delaney in his Probable Cause Statement. “She entered the house through the side door, which she knew was usually left unlocked and discovered the residents not moving with obvious severe injuries. She immediately called 911.”
Five minutes after first responders arrived on scene, the three residents were pronounced dead.
“Lucia Arpino had a knife embedded in her body; another knife with red-brown stains was found in the kitchen,” wrote Trooper Delaney in his Probable Cause Statement. “All three deceased had severe apparent knife injuries and blunt force trauma. There were obvious signs of a struggle in the bedroom, including broken furniture and a paperweight with a bloody fingerprint.”
According to Trooper Delaney, the investigation revealed that the D’Amores had gone out to dinner the night before their murder, from about 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. While the D’Amores were out to dinner, a neighbor was visiting with Lucia Arpino during roughly the same timeframe, although the visitor left shortly before the couple returned home.
After returning home, the D’Amores spoke with their adult daughter on the phone at around 9:30 p.m.
After canvassing the area around the D’Amore’s residence for video, police found surveillance footage from 455 Albemarle Road, which is approximately four-tenths of a mile from 49 Broadway Street and about 100 yards from 999 Washington Street (Ferguson’s residence).
The footage from 5:20 a.m. on June 25, depicts a man without a shirt and shoes walking by with a staggering gait.
“He is wearing no shorts in the video, but he appears disheveled and the shorts partially expose his buttocks,” wrote Trooper Delaney in his Probable Cause Statement. “Several officers shown the video immediately recognized him as Christopher Ferguson without being prompted, one officer from attending high school with him.”
Investigators visited Ferguson’s father, showed him a still and played him a portion of the video. When asked if the man in the video was his son, Chris, he nodded and said that it could be him.
Officers then spoke with Ferguson’s ex-girlfriend who dated him for a year and a half before breaking up with him this January. She told officers that Ferguson has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that he had “been in a manic episode since February 2023.”
Even though the two broke up recently, they apparently remained friends because his ex said that she was with Ferguson the night before the murder, Saturday, June 24, beginning at approximately 8 p.m.
According to Trooper Delaney, Ferguson’s ex said they went to the Target in Watertown then the Arsenal Mall. After their trip to the mall, Ferguson wanted to go to a liquor store, she said, but the store he wanted to go to was out of business.
“They drove by an apartment he was interested in renting on California Street in Newton, apparently just to take a look, then went to the Shaw’s in Newton, where he bought matches and (she thought) a bottle of water,” wrote Trooper Delaney. “Then they went to Ferguson’s house where he picked up liquor. He also came out with two suitcases, one black and one grey, and a Demoulas shopping bag containing dirty laundry. They arrived back at [Ferguson’s ex’s] home around 9:00 p.m. [His ex] agreed to wash the laundry, and Ferguson stayed with her until they argued and he left at around 10:36 p.m. He took with him everything but the clothes that were in the laundry. She described him as wearing a white Hawaiian shirt with what she thought was a blue surfer on it, tan shorts, black socks, and black boots.”
Black size 13 boots consistent with the size of the footprints investigators unveiled with leu cocrystal violet (LCV) at the crime scene, were located on the porch of 427 Albemarle Street, which is five houses down from 455 Albemarle Street, where the surveillance footage of Ferguson was taken.
In addition, a black suitcase and backpack were found unattended in the area. The suitcase was located at the intersection of Albemarle and Crafts streets and the backpack was found in a field about 100 – 150 yards away from the intersection.
“Both of these locations are on a reasonable but not direct route from 49 Broadway to 999 Washington Street,” explained Trooper Delaney in his Probable Cause Statement. “The suitcase did not contain identifying information, but it did contain a Demoulas shopping bag and matches. The backpack in the field contained a binder found to hold Ferguson’s photo ID and several documents with his name on them.”
According to Trooper Delaney, State Troopers later found Ferguson at his 999 Washington Street home where he lives with his sister. After his sister told police that Ferguson’s recent behavior has been “erratic,” officers applied for a Section 12 mental health evaluation, and Ferguson was transported to Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center in an ambulance.
“After an evaluation at the hospital by medical staff, he was held on a 72-hour Section 12 commitment, where he remains as of the writing of this warrant,” wrote Trooper Delaney in his Probable Cause Statement dated June 26. Later adding, “Officers observed Ferguson having a sliced-open cut on his right hand and finger. When the officers tried to observe the injury, Ferguson also attempted to hide it. Officers also observed that the bottom of his feet were filthy.”
Also on Monday, June 26, State Trooper Michael Sullivan was granted a search warrant to take Ferguson’s fingerprint and footprint impressions.
State Police collected Ferguson’s fingerprint and footprint impressions and sent them to the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab for comparison. Later in the afternoon of June 26, State Troopers assigned to the Crime Scene Services Section reported that the footprint taken form the crime scene matched Ferguson’s right foot.
Ferguson was arrested and charged with murder, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury (knife) [two counts], and burglary. He has only been charged for the murder of Gilda D’Amore so far because her autopsy was the only one concluded by Dr. Kimberly Springer of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, who determined that her cause of death was from stab wounds to the head, neck, and upper extremities, ruling that it was a homicide.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told reporters Monday that more charges are likely to follow once the other autopsies are complete. The fingerprints of the deceased will then be matched to the bloody crystal paperweight found in 49 Broadway Street because Ferguson was ruled out as being the source of the fingerprints on that object.
Ferguson was arraigned in Newton District Court Tuesday, where his defense attorney Dmitry Lev entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. He was held without bail following his arraignment.
In 2005, Ferguson was charged with assault and battery and ordered to undergo a mental health and substance abuse evaluation, the Boston Globe reported. The charged were eventually dismissed.
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