BOSTON (WHDH) - A Brooklyn fugitive is charged in the murder of a 75-year-old man in his West End apartment last month, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Don Pelzer, 30, was charged in Boston Municipal Court Tuesday with murder and a fugitive from justice charge out of New York. A judge ordered him held without bail.
Officials say Pelzer slashed the man’s throat, ate his food, slept on his couch, and then left in the morning, leaving the body to be discovered during a well-being check later that day.
Pelzer also has a warrant out of Brooklyn for a January 23 knife assault which left the victim with numerous slash wounds.
Investigators say video surveillance shows Pelzer enter the secured apartment building at 65 Martha Road behind a resident at about 9:30 p.m. on February 15. Pelzer took an elevator to the 11th floor, where video shows him attempting to enter numerous apartments. He then took the elevator down to the 10th floor before returning to the 11th floor to continue testing doors.
The victim, David MacDonald, often left his door unlocked so neighbors and Good Samaritan services such as Meals on Wheels America could bring food without him having to get up and open the door, the DA’s Office says.
At about 8:40 the next morning, neighbors knocked on MacDonald’s door, which was closed and locked, and received no response. Surveillance video shows Pelzer leaving the building at about 9:13 that morning. Prosecutors say Pelzer stole MacDonald’s wallet, credit cards, and keys.
After investigating surveillance footage and other evidence, authorities issued a warrant for Pelzer’s arrest on Friday. On Monday, Boston Police responded to a disturbance at Tufts Medical Center and detained a man, later identified as Pelzer.
“Everything about this case is terrifying, from this man surreptitiously entering a secured residential building, to his testing the doors on numerous units, and, ultimately, to his brutal killing of Mr. MacDonald and his remaining in the apartment with the body until the next morning,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “This is a tragic reminder of how important it is to be alert to a non-resident attempting to slip into a locked building behind you.”
Pelzer will return to court on April 12 for a pre-trial hearing.
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