Second to be Stabbed in Ten Days On Same Street
By Josh Resnek
Everett Detectives and State Police have been working feverishly to snag a suspect in the stabbing murder of longtime Bradford Court resident Michael Starr.
Starr, 54, was apparently randomly stabbed to death as he returned home after leaving the nearby 7/11 store store last Tuesday night around 9:00 p.m.
He was transported to the hospital where he died. Police released a composite sketch apparently pieced together through interviews with neighborhood residents.
Also, police have examined surveillance camera videos in neighborhood stores in order to identify a suspect.
A number of individuals have been questioned. To date, police have made no arrests and are urging residents who might have seen Starr leaving the market or grappling with someone, to come forward.
Starr’s death has wreaked havoc on the closely knit, quiet Everett neighborhood still reeling from an earlier random stabbing ten days before.
That victim, who has not been identified, survived and has recovered, according to police sources who wished to remain unnamed.
Starr, well known in the neighborhood, was a tradesman and an apprentice plumber with a mechanical mind and an aptitude for machinery, carpentry and electrical. Plumbing was his strong suit, according to those who knew him.
He had been in declining health and disabled for quite some time.
Starr was born and raised in Revere. He graduated from Revere High School in 1983. He leaves his longtime companion, Donna Niedzwiecki, a brother William of North Carolina, a sister Ellen Murphy of Salem, a sister Dorothy Nicholas, and a stepbrother, John Sousa, both of North Carolina.
Visitors to the Leader Herald Facebook site after the announcement of Starr’s slaying were quick to note that another stabbing had taken place on Bradford Court, an occurrence police believe is connected, if for no other reason that they happened on the same street in the same neighborhood and the attacker’s apparent method of attack with a knife reveals startling similarities.
However, it is likely evidence and forensics collected by detectives and then matched against those stored on a on a database might ultimately shed some light on who exactly killed Starr and stabbed another resident of the neighborhood.
Following Starr’s death, police warned those walking about Bradford Court at night to exercise extreme caution.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said she was asking for the public’s help in identifying the man believed involved in the fatal slaying.
Phyllis Morley, a neighborhood resident, described Starr as a gem of a man, telling reporters for Boston’s Channel 25: “He would do everything for you.”
Morley said Starr went to the 7/11 on most evenings.
Detectives went door to door handing out fliers to residents following Starr’s death. No other details have been released.
A funeral service for Starr will be held Saturday, April 6th at 3:15 p.m. at the Vertuccio & Smith Home for Funerals in Revere.
Interment will be private.