By Meredith Gorman
Lawyers for former New England Patriots tight-end Aaron Hernandez appeared in court on Tuesday to ask the judge to dismiss a search warrant that led to law enforcement officers’ seizure of a vehicle that prosecutors believe Hernandez was driving when he murdered two men in 2012. 
Hernandez has already been convicted of killing Odin Lloyd in June 2013 and is serving a life sentence in prison.
Hernandez is accused of murdering Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in the early morning hours of July 16, 2012. According to prosecutors, Hernandez had a “chance encounter” with de Abreu and Furtado inside Cure Lounge in downtown Boston.
Abreu reportedly spilled a drink on Hernandez while the two were on the dance floor, and later that night Hernandez and a friend waited for Abreu, Furtado and another friend to leave the club, following them into the South End. Hernandez allegedly pulled up next to Abreu’s car at a red light, and fired shots, hitting all three men in the car and killing Abreu and Furtado.
According to Hernandez’s lawyers, the search warrant law enforcement agents executed that resulted in the seizure of the SUV omitted the fact that Carlos Ortiz, who was with Hernandez on the night that Odin Lloyd was killed, failed a lie detector test that ultimately led authorities to the Toyota 4Runner vehicle at Hernandez’s uncle’s home in Bristol, Conn. As a result, Hernandez’s defense believes there is no basis to form probable cause.
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By Mackenzie Nichols
The July, 1992 murder of a woman in the South End had gone unsolved, until last week.
James Witkowski, 42, was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday for the brutal first degree murder of Lena Bruce, a 21-year-old Philadelphia native and Tufts graduate who was killed in her South End apartment.
Witkowski snuck into Bruce’s apartment through an open window and used a telephone cord to tie her down while he sexually assaulted and suffocated her in her own home, according to reports of the murder.
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Police are investigating the death of a Cape Cod man who was shot and killed in Hyde Park on Wednesday.
Jeff Randall
At around 4:05 a.m. on Sept. 30, police responded to a radio call at 493 Huntington Ave. and found 30-year-old Jeffrey Randall suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators told the Boston Globe the shooting appeared to be targeted, and may have been gang related. His body was found in the parking lot.
Randall was a lifelong Hyannis resident, and friends were shocked to hear he had been killed, according to the Hyannis News. The local news site also said he “struggled with a troubled past which included recent run-ins with the law.”
Randall, a father to four children, was an avid sports fan and enjoyed dirt bikes, according to his obituary.
Relatives, law enforcement agents and experts testified this week during the trial of Timothy Kostka, an alleged heroin addict who is accused of killing 67-year-old Barbara Coyne in her South Boston home in April of 2012.
Kostka, now 30, is being charged with first degree murder in Coyne’s death. Coyne, who was a retired nurse and grandmother, died after her throat was slashed on the morning of April 16, 2012.
Prosecutors allege that Kostka, who knew the Coyne family well, was searching for expensive fishing gear that Richard Coyne owned. Instead, he found Barbara Coyne in her
Last week, Barbara Coyne’s son Richard testified about finding his mother bleeding profusely in her bedroom. Earlier this week, Barbara Coyne’s granddaughter Sinead, who lived on the first floor of the triple-decker home on East Seventh Street, described walking into her grandmother’s room and seeing her “laying in a pool of blood on the floor.”
Prosecutors say Kostka, who knew the Coyne family well, was allegedly looking for expensive fishing gear Richard Coyne, an avid fisherman, owned. Clyne testified that Kostka had even called him earlier that morning about where he could sell it.
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By Aneri Pattani
In Suffolk Superior Court Thursday, Richard Coyne recalled the last few interactions he had with his mother, Barbara Coyne, before the 67-year-old was murdered in her South Boston home in 2012.
Timothy Kostka, a 30-year-old South Boston man, is being charged with first-degree murder in the case.
Richard Coyne ran the Boston Marathon for 20 years, but on Marathon Monday in 2012, he wasn’t making his way toward the finish line at Boylston Street. Instead, he was holding a towel to his mother’s throat, trying to stop the blood that was flowing from a stab wound.
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The man who was shot and killed in Dorchester Wednesday night has been identified as 21-year-old Natho C. Bellegarde.
Police responded to the area around 96 Intervale St. at around 8:40 p.m. where they found Bellegarde suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Responders transported him to Boston Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
Natho Bellegarde
Bellegarde was with his uncle and had just left Hartwell Street, where his mother and grandmother live, according to the Boston Globe. Bellegarde was riding scooters with his uncle and stopped on Intervale Street. At that point, a witness told the Globe, a man got out of a vehicle, walked up to Bellegarde and began shooting.
The witness said the block on which the shooting occurred was filled with people at the time.
Bellegarde had a 1-year-old son and worked as a concrete mason, according to the Globe. The Trinity Boston Foundation remembered Bellegarde as a “bright and hardworking young man” who ran with the foundation’s Sole Train community building and mentoring program.
Detectives are working to solve Bellegarde’s homicide and ask anyone with information to call the homicide unit at 617-373-4470. Anonymous tipsters can call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or can text the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27643).
Bella Bond
(facebook.com)
After nearly three months with no name, the toddler whose body was found on the shore of Deer Island in late June has been identified, and her alleged killers arrested.
On June 25, a woman walking her dog on Deer Island in Winthrop discovered a toddler’s body washed ashore in a trash bag and called police.
A week later, police and the Suffolk district attorney’s office released a composite image of the child, dubbed “Baby Doe” by investigators and the media. They also released photos of the polka dot leggings she was found wearing and a blanket placed in the bag with her.
Investigators followed up on hundreds of tips, tracking down leads to countries as far away as Peru. Despite the computer-generated image of Baby Doe reaching roughly 60 million people, and investigators’ use of advanced forensic techniques to identify where she came from, the toddler remained unidentified until mid-September.
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A 15-year-old Chelsea boy was stabbed and killed in East Boston on Sunday.
Police responded to 72 Trenton St. Sunday evening just before 5:15 p.m. where they found the teenager suffering from a stab wound. Emergency responders took him to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
On Tuesday, police identified the victim as Irvin de Paz.
Irvin de Paz
De Paz was a freshman at Chelsea High School. Originally from el Salvador, he moved to Chelsea in 2007 with his parents. He enjoyed swimming, playing video games and going to the movies, according to his obituary.
Detectives are investigating the case and ask anyone with information to call the homicide unit at 617-343-4470. Anyone who wants to leave anonymous tips can call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27643).
Just two weeks earlier, 15-year-old Wilson Martinez was found dead on Constitution Beach in East Boston. It is believed he died from stab wounds.
Friends and neighbors said 31-year-old Grisel Sanchez was a good person and a great mother who was killed on a simple trip to the store. The disbelief and shock refused to sink in as people who knew Sanchez struggle to understand why the mother of three was struck and killed by a stray bullet.
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Zachary Pinnick was found dead of apparent gunshot wounds the morning of September 10.
According to police, shots were fired around 4:40 a.m. Upon arriving at 56 Holworthy St., officers found the Pinnick, 32, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene.
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