SOMERVILLE, MASS. (WHDH) - A man who was arrested in connection with a deadly stabbing at a laundromat in Somerville appeared before a judge on Tuesday.
Monday night, police responded to the Spin Cycle Laundromat on Broadway and Main Streets around 7:30 p.m. where 7NEWS sources said a victim was stabbed in the neck.
The victim, later identified by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office as 33-year-old Joseph Muzzi of Weymouth, was rushed to the hospital, but did not survive despite undergoing surgery.
The suspect, 53-year-old Darien Burns, is known in the area. People working along Main Street said he lives above the laundromat and is connected to the family who owns it. Jay Cahill works next to the laundromat and was in disbelief of the incident.
“I don’t understand what led to this, he’s a very friendly, very upbeat, very good father,” Cahill said. “He doesn’t have a bad temper as far as I know. He might have felt threatened, if that’s the case he may have protected himself.”
In court, the prosecutor said Burns told police he had been followed by Muzzi into a back closet in the laundromat. Burns had said Muzzi choked and threatened to kill him, leading Burns to fear for his life. Instead, security footage revealed an escalating five minute conversation between the suspect and the victim, where Burns gets increasingly aggressive until he attacks Muzzi.
Police said Burns even followed Muzzi as he ran out of the laundromat bleeding and trying to flag down help.
Burns faces charges that include assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.
The incident remains under investigation and no further information has been released.
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