Here’s what we know about the doctors murdered in South Boston
Dr. Richard Field and Dr. Lina Bolaños were two respected anesthesiologists who worked in the Boston area and lived together in a swanky 11th-floor apartment in South Boston. It was there where Field and Bolaños had reportedly been planning their wedding. And it was there where they were murdered together on Friday night.
In a statement to media outlets Tuesday, the couple’s family described them as loving people who dedicated their lives to helping the “most vulnerable”:
Richard and Lina were loving, vital people whose joy for life was infectious and love for family absolute.
They thrived on traveling, experiencing cultures and making friends in every port. As such, their loss will be felt by family and loved ones across the world.
As doctors, they dedicated their professional lives to alleviating suffering and ensuring the safety of those most vulnerable—children undergoing surgery. As family members, they adored their nieces and nephews as if their own children and always found the time to take interest in each and every one of us, no matter what was on their plate.
Their passing is a tragedy beyond measure and our lives will forever be changed. However, we want to remember Richard and Lina for who they were, not how they died. Their impact in the world–in the lives of those who they loved, those who loved them, and the patients that they cared for—is the real newsworthy story. We will remember and celebrate their passion, gentility, and extraordinary kindness forever.
Please consider a tribute donation in Richard and Lina’s memory to the Doctors Without Borders Organization.
The shocking and unusual circumstances of the killing has garnered national media attention. But here’s what we know about Field and Bolaños as they lived.
Richard Field
Field was a 49-year-old doctor at North Shore Pain Management, where he was described a “guiding vision” and “instrumental in the creation” of the practice in 2010, according to a statement by his former employer.
“His tragic and sudden passing leaves an inescapable void in all of us,” the practice, which has offices in Woburn and Beverly, said in a statement.
Field has also worked as an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist at Beverly Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, according to North Shore Pain Management. He had also completed a pain management fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and served as an instructor at Harvard Medical School, according to a since-deleted employee biography reported on by The Boston Globe.
According to a Globe report Monday, Field was from England. Ariana Selby, a physician assistant at North Shore Pain Management, said that many of his patients were charmed by his British accent.
According to the Globe, Field first met Bolaños while working at Brigham and the couple reportedly began dating several years ago, around the time Bolaños was looking to rent an apartment in South Boston. Dr. Sunil Eappen, her boss at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, told the Globe that she had invited a surgeon over for dinner Friday night, but canceled because Field was not feeling well.
Several of his former patients recalled Fields as talented and empathetic.
“I feel like I lost a friend,” Marlborough resident Debra Harrington, who was one of Field’s patients for more than 12 years, told the Globe. Despite moving more than an hour away, Harrington recalled an anecdote that symbolized why she felt the drive was worth it. Per the Globe:
Harrington recalled how scared she was before undergoing an epidural procedure.
“I don’t know what religion he is,” she said. “I said, ‘Will you pray with me?’ He said, ‘Of course I will.’”
And so, at her bedside, Field stood there and prayed with her — and that was characteristic of his interactions with patients.
“He’s not a phony-baloney,” she said. “He doesn’t just do that to one person.”
Two of his other patients told the Globe that Field successfully treated pain problems without resorting to prescription drugs.
“He was very much about getting to the root of the problem, and seeing if he could correct it — not covering up with any [potentially harmful] medication,” Kerry Howeson told the Globe.
Lina Bolaños
Like her fiancee, Bolaños was a certified anesthesiologist fondly remembered by her peers. The 38-year-old worked as a pediatric anesthesiologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear’s main campus, adjacent to Massachusetts General Hospital, in the West End.
According to the Globe, she was originally from Colombia, where she studied medicine, and moved to the United States in 2001.
Her cousin Andrea Ustman Bolaños told the Globe that Bolaños was a unifying force within the family and made plans with every aunt, uncle, cousin, parent, and grandparent when she visited them in Colombia.
“Everyone in the family always admired her absolutely and her capability to study, to fight, and to get ahead,” she said.
John Fernandez, the president and CEO of Mass. Eye and Ear, said the hospital was “deeply saddened” by the news of her death Saturday.
“Dr. Bolanos was an outstanding pediatric anesthesiologist and a wonderful colleague in the prime of both her career and life,” Fernandez said in a statement.
At a gathering Monday, Bolaños’s friends and colleagues at Mass. Eye and Ear remembered her as a “’shining star,’ who despite her accomplishments was down to earth and known for sharing joy and warmth,” according to a statement from the company.
Eappen, the chief medical officer and anesthesia chief at Mass. Eye and Ear, said he had known Bolaños for more than a decade and first worked began working with her in 2011.
“In that time, I watched her mature and blossom from a young medical school graduate to a fabulous experienced pediatric anesthesiologist,” Eappen said. “Lina personified the ideal traits of a pediatric anesthesiologist, combining excellent skill with great compassion. She was warm and caring with both parents and the children she treated, creating a sense of calm even while managing the most stressful of cases.”
According to her employee biography, Bolaños also worked as an anesthesia instructor at Harvard Medical School and previously was a fellow at Tufts Medical School.
Bolaños was the type of person “that people were drawn to,” Eappen said in a statement.
“She just made the room a little bit brighter,” he later told the Globe.
Officials say have found no evidence so far that either Field or Bolaños knew their suspected killer, 30-year-old Bampumim Teixeira, after initial reports otherwise. Police encountered Teixeira in the couple’s apartment Friday night, after Field texted for help to a friend, who called police.
The Globe has reported the Field and Bolanos were found with their throats slit and were pronounced dead at the scene.
At Teixeira’s arraignment Monday, officials say police found a backpack filled with jewelry — presumably belonging to Bolaños — in a “remarkably conspicuous area” near the apartment door.
Police say they are still investigating how Teixeira gained access to the 11th-floor apartment, which was only accessible with a key.
