A 27-year-old man from Chelsea has been indicted on murder and firearm charges in connection with a 2015 cold case involving a woman who was fatally shot outside of an Everett nightclub, officials said.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office announced on Friday that Henry “J.R.” Del-Rio had been charged in connection with the death of Ashlee Berryman, 21, who was shot outside the Braza Grille nightclub in Everett.
The DA’s office said it was in the early morning of Aug. 13, 2015, when Berryman had exited the nightclub after attending a concert her boyfriend had performed in.
Also outside of the club was Del-Rio, who was in the Braza Grille’s parking lot along with several other men – all of whom were allegedly associated with the Chelsea-based East Side Money Gang.
According to a news release from the DA’s office, it was around 12:50 a.m. when two men arrived in the area and “became engaged in a verbal argument with an associate of the defendant’s in the parking lot.”
“When the confrontation was over and the men had separated, Del-Rio drew a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and fired nine times at the two men,” the news release stated. “Del-Rio continued firing as the men turned and ran, striking one in his feet and ankles.”
Authorities said one of the rounds fired missed the targets and fatally struck Berryman in the back.
State and local police went on to investigate the scene, where they recovered .40 caliber cartridge casings and spent projectiles, leading them to conclude all rounds came from the same gun. The DA’s office stated that the murder weapon was never recovered.
Investigators would later discover Del-Rio allegedly told others that he had fired the shot that killed Berryman, and that associates of the accused apparently agreed to say nothing about what they had witnessed in the parking lot.
“The conduct that Henry Del-Rio is alleged to have engaged in outside the Braza Grille was outrageous and it ended in terrible tragedy,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan stated. “Ashlee Berryman, a completely innocent victim, was caught in a hail of gunfire and lost her life. The defendant is alleged to have randomly fired a gun over and over in a crowded parking lot, and unsurprisingly there was a terrible result.”
“Compounding that tragedy, over the years there was an intentional effort on the part of some witnesses to withhold the truth and to conceal the identity of the shooter,” Ryan continued. “Yet, my Office and our police partners remained committed to holding accountable the person who took Ashlee Berryman from her child and the rest of her family. I established Middlesex’s Cold Case Unit in 2019 to deliver concrete results. Today’s charges are yet another example of how this Unit is ensuring that those who commit violent acts in this County understand that the mere passage of time will do nothing to affect our resolve in pursuing them.”
“This is a great example of law enforcement not resting after all these years in pursuit of those responsible for this senseless act of violence,” said Everett Chief of Police Steven A. Mazzie. “Hopefully, today’s charges send a message to those that think they can avoid being held accountable that we will follow up until justice is served.”
According to the DA’s office, Del-Rio is currently already being held in connection with a federal case, but is expected to be arraigned at Middlesex Superior Court “at a later date.”
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)