2 men charged in 2008 murders of Mass. brothers

Two men have been indicted and arrested in connection to a 2008 double murder of a pair of Taunton brothers.

Steven Fordham, 38, of Taunton, was arrested Thursday night and Kaylen Scott, 36, of Worcester, was arrested Friday morning on murder charges for the shooting deaths of 21-year-old Shawn Vargas and 23-year-old Kevin Vargas, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn announced.

Fordham and Scott were indicted after a grand jury investigation. They are each charged with two counts of murder.

The Vargas brothers were fatally shot on the afternoon of Feb. 24, 2008, in Kevin’s Taunton apartment. Investigators said Shawn’s sons, aged 4 and 2 at the time, were present but uninjured at the time of the killings. 

According to a Taunton Daily Gazette report, prosecutors argued the shooting happened during an armed robbery. Investigators believe the brothers were tricked into what they thought was a marijuana deal but ended up being a robbery turned fatal.

“I want to thank all the investigators, especially state police Lt. Christopher Dumont and Chief of our Homicide Unit Dennis Collins for their persistence and efforts in continuing to investigate this case,”  Quinn said in a prepared statement. “I would also like to thank the victims’ family for the patience during the past 16 years. We look forward to prosecuting this case in court.”

Morgan Rousseau

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com