BOSTON (WHDH) — A man being held in connection with two recent attacks on women in South Boston will be formally charged with first degree murder in the death of Amy Lord, who was kidnapped from the same neighborhood.
Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said Thursday that forensic evidence has linked Edwin Alemany, 28, to Lord’s death. Alemany was previously named a person of interest in the case.
“The investigation reached a tipping point in the last 24 hours with witness statements, results from forensic testing and surveillance imagery,” said Conley on Thursday.
Alemany, who has a lengthy rap sheet, will be arraigned on the murder charge following a mental health evaluation. Alemany was initially arrested and charged with two attacks on two different women within hours of Lord’s death.
“We have been working around the clock since this homicide occurred,” said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.
Investigators returned to Hyde Park Thursday to search for more evidence that could connect Alemany to the crime. Police said Lord was kidnapped from her South Boston home and forced to go to five different ATMs before her body was found beaten and stabbed at the Stony Brook Reservation in Hyde Park on July 23.
“I’ve never been scared walking around in Boston before and I have been this week,” said Bethany Moran, who is relieved someone has been charged in Lord’s death.
“I’ve been taking cabs everywhere. It’s stressful. It’s good knowing someone is finally being charged with this,” said Tiffany Battles, who lives in South Boston.
Police said they are still investigating a detective who had a chance to arrest Alemany a year ago for another attack, but never did.
“We are probing all of the cases this detective had as well as any of our open cases over the last few years. If there is further evidence of misconduct we’ll deal with that as it comes along,” said Davis.
The DA said he called the Lord family Thursday morning to tell them about the murder charge first. He said Lord’s parents were relieved.
Lord was laid to rest in her hometown of Wilbraham earlier this week.