WORCESTER — A grand jury handed up a murder indictment against 23-year-old Jose Pacheco in the 2021 killing of a 19-year-old Worcester man who was found dead in Leominster, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. Pacheco, of Worcester, was indicted on June 16, 2025, on one count of murder in the […]
Crime and Public Safety
CPCS petitions SJC to release jailed defendants amid attorney shortage
Amid a spiraling shortage of court-appointed defense attorneys, the state’s top court is being asked to release jailed indigent defendants left without lawyers — including more than a dozen in Middlesex County — as hundreds of people statewide remain unrepresented.
Man indicted for murder from 2008 stabbing of college student
WORCESTER — A grand jury returned a murder indictment against one man this week in the 2008 stabbing death of a teenager in the area of North Ashland Street in Worcester, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. Marquis Brown, 40, of Worcester, was indicted on one count of murder in the […]
Fitchburg firefighters extinguish blaze at downtown residence
FITCHBURG — Fire crews knocked down a blaze in a residential building on Winter Street last week, arriving at the scene to find heavy fire coming from the upper floors of the residence. Last Wednesday, June 11, just after shift change at approximately 8:27 a.m., Group 2 crews were dispatched for the report of a […]
Ex-Mass. man sentenced for Fitchburg woman’s death in Boston hotel
A former Bay State man is facing up to 16 years in prison for the death of a 29-year-old Fitchburg woman who was found in a Boston hotel in March 2020. Maine man Aaron Parsons, 47, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and engaging in sexual conduct for a fee. He was sentenced on Thursday to 14-16 […]
Forensic breakthrough identifies killer in 1980 cold case murder of Ayer woman
AYER — More than four decades after the horrific murder of Katharina Reitz Brow shook the town of Ayer, investigators have finally identified the man responsible.
