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Everett man convicted of first-degree murder in death of estranged wife
On Dec. 19, 2018, Emilio Matarazzo walked up to a car with a long gun, pointed it at the window, and shot his wife, Ersilia Cataldo Matarazzo, multiple times.
A jury found an Everett man guilty of killing his estranged wife in December 2018, one month after she had filed for divorce and disclosed verbal and physical abuse.
Emilio Matarazzo was convicted of first-degree murder for the Dec. 19, 2018, shooting of his wife, Ersilia Cataldo Matarazzo, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office confirmed in a release.
The conviction followed a 16-day trial in Middlesex Superior Court. Matarazzo will be sentenced on Aug. 10.
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On Dec. 19, 2018, around 8:40 a.m., Everett police responded to a report of a shooting on Central Avenue and found 50-year-old Ersilia Cataldo Matarazzo inside her car, which was parked in the driveway of her parents’ home, officials said.
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She had multiple gunshot wounds in her torso, and officials pronounced her dead at the scene, the district attorney’s office noted.
An investigation by Everett and state police assigned to the district attorney’s office revealed that about a month prior to the shooting, Cataldo Matarazzo had filed for divorce from her husband and moved into her parents’ home. She had revealed that there had been a long history of verbal abuse, and more recently, Matarazzo had turned physically abusive, strangling and scratching her, authorities said.
The day before the shooting, Matarazzo stopped by a Christmas party at St. Anthony’s Parish, where the victim worked, and demanded to see her. He pushed his daughter in anger outside of the church after people asked him to leave, officials said.
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Sometime after 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2018, a witness reported hearing gunshots from her window and noticed a man — later identified as Matarazzo — walk up to a car on Central Avenue with a long gun, aim it at the window, and start firing where the victim was seated inside, the district attorney’s office noted.
Matarazzo went to the police station later that morning where he was arrested.
Police also secured a warrant and searched a property on Foster Street, which Matarazzo owned, and found the murder weapon — a Beretta .12 gauge shotgun — hidden behind a workbench in the basement. Officials said the gun had the same serial number as a shotgun that was missing from the gun safe at Matarazzo’s home.
“Intimate partner violence continues to be a significant public safety and public health issue,” District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “Ms. Cataldo Matarazzo had been subjected to a long history of abuse that escalated when she tried to leave the defendant.
“We know that when a victim decides to leave a relationship that time can be incredibly dangerous and in this case Ersilia Cataldo Matarazzo was senselessly murdered when she left the defendant and filed for divorce,” Ryan continued. “Since her murder, her family, neighbors and her many friends have drawn attention to the important message that domestic violence is a community issue. They have helped to raise awareness and provided resources to aid victims and survivors.”
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There have been six domestic violence homicides in Middlesex County already this year — two of which happened in the last few weeks, the district attorney’s office noted.
For a list of domestic violence resources in Middlesex County, visit the district attorney’s office website.
Those in need of support can also reach out to a victim witness advocate during regular office hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) via text message at 781-281-4066.
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