1997 Murder

Murder and Non-negligent Manslaughter, as defined in the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, is the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another. The classification of this offense, as for all other Crime Index Offenses, is based solely on police investigation, as opposed to the determination of a court, medical examiner, coronor, jury, or other judicial body. Not inlcuded in the count for this offense classification are deaths caused by negligence, suicide, or accident; justifiable homicides; and attempts to murder or assaults with the intent to murder, which are scored as aggravated assaults.

Two Murders Reported in Cambridge in 1997

Runaway murdered in East Cambridge

March 26, 1997

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 26, 1997, Cambridge and Boston firefighters responded to a trailer fire in an industrial yard off East Street in East Cambridge. While extinguishing the flames, the firefighters encountered a gruesome sight: a charred body inside the trailer. Examination determined that the body belonged to a female who had died from a blow to the head with a blunt instrument.

Investigation revealed that the victim was 19-year-old Helena Gardner of Lawrence, who had been living on the streets for several years. In early April, Cambridge detectives arrested one of the victim's acquaintances, another 19-year-old female who apparently tortured and murdered the victim in order to settle an ongoing dispute. The killer then doused the victim and ignited the trailer. Two homeless men who watched the grisly scene have also been charged with murder.

Cambridge man shot in Hoyt Field

August 19, 1997

On Tuesday, August 19, 1997, at 8:55 p.m., 19-year-old Benny Rosa of Jackson Circle was shot to death in Hoyt Field as players from a basketball game were dispersing. Two other people with Rosa-his girlfriend and a friend-were also wounded.

Investigation immediately centered on two men from Boston: Anthony Cole and Craig "Sticky"

Joseph, who had apparently been shooting at each other, catching the victim in the crossfire. Cole was arrested the same week and is currently awaiting trial; Joseph remains at large and is on the Cambridge Police Department's "Ten Most Wanted" list.

In December 1997, Cambridge Police arrested Richard Kachadorian, formerly of River Street, for the city's only 1996 homicide: the knife murder of a 50-year-old homeless man in front of 1033 Massachusetts Avenue on November 22, 1996. Kachadorian and the victim reportedly got into an argument which escalated into a physical fight. According to witnesses, Kachadorian pulled a knife, stabbed the victim in the chest, and slashed his throat. After the murder, Kachadorian was reported to have fled the state. A Middlesex grand jury indicted him in February 1997. Members of the Cambridge Police Department's Homicide Unit arrested him in Swampscott on December 16, 1997 after receiving a tip.

We are obliged here to note the murder of 10-year-old Jeffrey Curley on October 1, 1997. The murder techically occurred in Newton, so it is not included in our crime index, but Jeffrey Curley lived in Cambridge, and his murderers took him from near his home on Hampshire Street. Charles Jaynes, 22, of Brockton and Salvatore Sicari, 21, of Cambridge have been arrested and charged with the homicide. The men were apparently acquainted with Curley. After luring the boy into their 1983 Cadillac, the men reportedly drove him to Newton, where Jaynes smothered him with a gasoline-soaked rag. Later, Jaynes and Sicari drove to Maine and dumped Curley's body in a river, where it was recovered by divers about a week later. Jaynes and Sicari were arrested the next day and they currently await trial.

Murder Across the State & Nation

In 1996*, the United States of America reported 19,645 murders, representing a decrease of 9.8% from the 21,606 homicides recorded in 1995. The 1996 total was the lowest since 1985. The nation's cities reported the largest decrease (10% on average).

Across the nation, murder victims are 18% female and 82% male; Cambridge has a much higher percentage of female murders (probably because of our relatively low number of gang-related homicides, in which the victims are usually male). The nation's murder victims' ages mirror those of Cambridge, with the average male age in the mid-20s and the average female age around 40.

Massachusetts seemed to do better than the national averge, with a statewide decrease of 28% (from 217 to 157). Boston's murder rate dropped 39% (96 to 59). Of the other towns surrounding Cambridge (Watertown, Belmont, Arlington, and Somerville), only Somerville reported any murders in 1996, registering two.

*Statistics for 1997 are not yet available for other cities and towns.

Characteristics of Murder in Cambridge

For the 30-year period between 1960 and 1989, the City of Cambridge averaged four and a half murders per year. The annual average in the 1990s has fallen to two and a half per year. Nationally, cities of 100,000 residents average 10 murders each year. Trend analysis over the past few years points to three recurring murder scenarios in Cambridge: domestic murder, in which an elderly female is brutally killed by her husband in a homicidal rage; arguments among the homeless that, often fueled by drugs or alcohol, escalate into deadly violence; and the murder of young males by a handgun or knife in street robberies or drug deals gone awry.

Since 1990, there have been 19 murders in the city of Cambridge. Of these 19 homicides, ten of the victims were male (average age of 23) and nine were female (average age of 44). A handgun was the murder weapon in five of the incidents, and a knife was used in eight of the other 13 homicides. Seven of the 19 murders reported since 1990 are still under investigation. A map showing all of the murder dates and locations since 1991 can be found on the following page.

Please contact Detective Sergeant Patrick Nagle at 617-349-3370 if you have any information.

1. August 9, 1995 at 304 Prospect Street. At 3:30 p.m. on this date, Azores Market owner Lilia Fagundes was shot in her store in a possible robbery gone awry. Witnesses reported seeing a Black male, 5'8" tall, about 15-16 years old, with dark skin, short hair, and a thin build.

2. September 22, 1993 at 324 Rindge Avenue. At 9:30 p.m., 23-year-old Michael Garner was walking home when, as witnesses report, three young Black males confronted him and tried to rob him of his gold chains. The robbery went astray, and Garner was shot twice and killed.

3. April 4, 1991 at Sparks & Brewster Streets. At 8:58 p.m., law professor Mary Jo Frug, 49 years old, was stabbed multiple times for no apparent reason. A witness saw a White male suspect in his 20s, wearing a black leather jacket, running down Brewster Street.