WORCESTER — The Worcester County District Attorney’s Office announced today that Thomas Bergstrom, a 42-year-old man from Worcester, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2019 killing of Jennifer Vazquez-Rivera, who was found stabbed to death in her apartment on Lapierre Street in Worcester.
Bergstrom was sentenced by Judge William Ritter in Worcester Superior Court to a life term in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Judge Ritter agreed with the Commonwealth’s recommendation of a 25-year parole eligibility, rejecting the defense’s proposal for a 22-year parole eligibility hearing date, according to a statement from the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office. The statement also noted that the family of Vazquez-Rivera supported the plea agreement as it spared her two young children from having to testify and otherwise participate in her murder trial.
“We know nothing can bring Jennifer back to her family, but we hope today’s plea brings some measure of justice to her family to help them move forward after this tragedy,” Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early said.
On the evening of October 2, 2019, Vazquez-Rivera was discovered with stab wounds in her Lapierre Street apartment and quickly transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced deceased. Witness accounts and cell phone data subsequently led investigators to Bergstrom.
Bergstrom turned himself in to police on October 4, 2019, and has been in custody ever since.
