LEICESTER – On Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, at approximately 7:34 p.m. Officer Matthew Fenuccio responded to the area along Paxton Street where vehicles pull over to view the Worcester Airport runway after a woman called 911 to report a domestic dispute with her boyfriend.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Matthew Fenuccio and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Leicester Police Officers Michelle Parker, Nicholas Wilson, and Sergeant Travis McCauley also responded to the scene.
Officer Fenuccio said that while en route to the scene, dispatch informed the responding officers that a woman had called 911 to report a domestic dispute with her boyfriend, who was allegedly holding their 2-year-old daughter in his arms and threatening the woman for contacting police.
Upon arrival, Officer Fenuccio said that he and Officer Parker noticed a woman standing outside of a gray 2012 Volkswagen Jetta with Massachusetts plates.
“Next to the female was a male party holding a young female child approximately 15 feet away,” Officer Fennucio said. Later adding, “The male suspect was later identified as Mr. Seth Cardinale.”
According to police, Seth M. Cardinale, 34, is a resident of Leicester, MA.
Officer Fenuccio said he ordered Cardinale to hand the female juvenile over to Officer Parker. Cardinale initially resisted but ultimately complied.
“Officer Wilson and I brought Seth a few feet further away from [the reporting party] to have more separation,” Officer Fenuccio said.
Cardinale told Officer Fenuccio that he and the reporting party were driving and the reporting party “threatened to drop him off at the police station.” Cardinale then said that the reporting party was upset because he decided to drink, which has been a major problem for their relationship.
“As Seth continued to talk to me, I could smell a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath,” Officer Fenuccio said, adding that Cardinale also had bloodshot, glassy eyes and his speech was slurred.
“Seth was very distracted and continuously looked over at [the reporting party] who was now holding [the female juvenile],” Officer Fenuccio said.
Officer Fenuccio said that based on Cardinale’s alleged threats toward the reporting party and his apparent intoxication, he placed Cardinale in handcuffs behind his back, double-locked them, and checked them for proper tightness.
“I then secured him in the rear of Officer Parker’s cruiser,” Officer Fenuccio said. “I explained to Seth that he was only being detained at this time until officers got all sides of the story.”
Officer Fenuccio and Officer Wilson then met with Officer Parker and Sergeant McCauley to discuss what they learned from the reporting party.
“[The reporting party] stated that Seth had lied to her earlier about him going to an alcohol rehabilitation facility, he instead got ‘drunk,’” Officer Fenuccio said.
Officer Fenuccio said the reporting party further stated that Cardinale threatened her, saying, “If you don’t turn around, I am going to kill you and your kids are going to watch,” and that he could “hurt her from a long distance.”
“She explained that Seth tried to take her cell phone away from her so she could not call the police,” Officer Fenuccio said. “[The reporting party] also stated that just prior to her pulling over the vehicle, Seth headbutted her (prompting her to pull over).”
In front of the reporting party’s vehicle, the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta, Officer Fenuccio said there was a witness, who was sitting in her vehicle.
“[The witness] stated that she was parked in her car off to the side of the road,” Officer Fenuccio said. “While parked in her car [the reporting party’s] vehicle pulled up behind her.”
The witness said that after the reporting party parked her vehicle, she heard a commotion coming from inside it.
“She heard Seth swearing and yelling at [the reporting party],” Officer Fenuccio said. The witness said that at one point, the reporting party exited her vehicle, approached her, grabbed her arm and pleaded for help.
At around this time, Officer Fenuccio said he decided to place Seth M. Cardinale, 34, of Leicester, under arrest for the following:
- Assault and battery on a family household member
- Reckless Endangerment of a child
- Witness Intimidation
- Threat to commit a crime
Officer Fenuccio said he read Cardinale his Miranda rights on scene at approximately at 7:46 p.m.
Cardinale was then transported to the Leicester Police Department where he was booked without incident.
Cardinale’s bail was set at $5,000.
“Seth was transported to Spencer police for holding until he can be brought before the court,” Officer Fenuccio said. He added that Cardinale would only be eligible for out of court bail after 1:30 a.m. due to the state’s mandatory six-hour holding period for arrests involving domestic abuse.
Sergeant McCauley contacted the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) to file a verbal 51A report due to the alleged danger posed to the female juvenile during the incident and the events leading up to it. (A 51A form is a mandatory report that professionals in Massachusetts, who work with children, must file with the DCF when they suspect that a child is being abused, neglected, or both.)
Cardinale was arraigned in East Brookfield District Court on Aug. 26, 2026. During his arraignment, the judge granted the Commonwealth’s motion to revoke Cardinale’s bail and he was ordered held for a 90-day period ending on Nov. 29, 2026.
Following a status hearing on Sept. 2, 2026, Cardinale was released to Recovery Centers of America (RCA) in Danvers, an addiction treatment facility. At a subsequent status hearing on Sept. 3, 2026, Cardinale’s bail was reduced and reinstated to personal recognizance.
Cardinale’s next court date is a compliance and election hearing scheduled for Nov. 18, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in August, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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