QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A Stoughton man who allegedly stabbed his wife to death in an apparent domestic violence-related attack earlier this year has been indicted for the murder, officials said.
A Norfolk County Grand Jury on Thursday indicted Ilton Rodrigues, 48, on a murder charge stemming from the May 4 death of his wife Telma Bras, 43, also of Stoughton, according to a spokesman for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.
Officers responding to an apartment on Benett Drive about 11:30 p.m. allegedly found Bras dead in the living room and Rodriguez with a knife still protruding from his body.
A 17-year-old girl heard the disturbance and alerted a family member, who in turn notified the authorities, according to the district attorney’s office. A 7-year-old boy was also home at the time of the murder.
Bras suffered seven puncture wounds to her heart, lungs, chest, and back, according to court documents.
Rodriguez told responding officers that he returned home from work earlier in the night to find his wife drinking, playing video games, and talking to another man online, the documents indicate. She then allegedly sent him back out to pay an overdue National Grid bill and repeatedly told him to “get away from her” when he came back, prompting Rodriguez to grab a kitchen knife.
As Rodriguez started to harm himself, police say Bras tried to intervene but was repeatedly stabbed when she got close. Rodriguez then reportedly laid down next to Bras in a “large pool of blood” and started stabbing himself, prosecutors said during the arraignment.
Moments after the murder, Rodriguez allegedly told police that he left a voicemail on his brother’s phone that said, “I killed my wife and now I’m going to kill myself.”
Rodriguez later underwent emergency surgery and was arrested at the hospital. He is expected to survive.
Family members and professionals are now caring for the children. They are expected to undergo counseling due to the traumatic nature of the incident.
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