BROCKTON (WHDH) – A Brockton woman charged in the murder of her boyfriend stabbed him more than three dozen times, dismembered his body and then stuffed it in a closet, according to prosecutors.
Kathryn Podgurski, 33, was arraigned Monday in connection with the death of 44-year-old Joseph Shaw. As prosecutors shared gruesome details about the murder, several of Shaw’s family members broke down in tears and had to leave the courtroom.
Shaw’s body was found stuffed in a closet at 42 Green Street over the weekend inside an apartment he had shared with Podgurski. Prosecutors said Shaw was found stabbed to death and dismembered.
“The body was also found to be missing the lower left portion of the leg and the right arm below the elbow,” prosecutor Richard Linehan said.
Prosecutors allege Podgurski stabbed Shaw at least 40 times and that she spent several days trying to cover up the murder, suggesting to police that two masked men were responsible for the crime.
Police said Shaw had been deceased for a week before his body was found. Shaw had been reported missing by family members last Monday.
“This defendant, Ms. Podgurski, told officers that two guys broke into the apartment and tried to rob her and Joseph Shaw for drugs and money,” Linehan said.
The medical examiner said Shaw’s wounds were consistent with an “emotional attack” and said that he might have survived if he had gotten medical attention right away.
Investigators said they believe Podgurski was taking parts of Shaw’s body out of the apartment, piece by piece, and that she had hung blankets to try to conceal the smell of the body.
Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz called the murder “particularly heinous.” Destrought family members would not comment on the murder following the emotional hearing.
Podgurski, who is pregnant, was ordered held without bail. She is due back in court in August.
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