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Quincy Man to Serve Life in Prison After Conviction in Marshfield Burglary / Homicide Case



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Contact: Beth Stone 508-584-8120

PLYMOUTH – A Quincy man has been sentenced to Life in Prison after a jury convicted him of brutally murdering a Marshfield man in his own home, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz and Marshfield Police Chief Phil Tavares announced today.

Jurors began hearing trial testimony on January 7 and deliberated four hours before finding Michael Moscaritolo, 37, of Quincy, guilty today of First Degree Murder in the death of 45 year-old Robert McKenna. Plymouth Superior Court Judge C.J. Moriarty sentenced Moscaritolo to serve Life in Prison without the possibility of Parole.

“Rob McKenna was terrorized and left to die that day in 2015 and Michael Moscaritolo was the ringleader who orchestrated his massacre,” DA Cruz said. “This has always been about getting justice for Rob. Through three trials and this re-trial, Rob’s family spent day after day in the courtroom listening to excruciatingly painful details of their loved one’s murder. I hope that with this verdict they finally find some peace and are comforted by their memories of Rob’s positive attitude, adventurous spirit, and the joy that he brought to their family.”

Marshfield Police Chief Phil Tavares said, “This is the fourth time the McKenna family has had to endure the details of the brutal, senseless murder of their loved one. Now, finally, some sense of justice is served on all three individuals responsible for his death.”

On September 16, 2015, Marshfield Police received a 911 call reporting the death of McKenna, who was discovered in his home at 190 Damon’s Point Road by a friend. McKenna was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsy, where the Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide and identified the cause of death to be exsanguination due to injuries to McKenna’s right arm that severed large blood vessels and lacerations of the head.

An investigation by detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and Marshfield Police yielded several leads in the case, including the discovery of items of clothing, footwear and gloves at the scene and along the suspected route that the perpetrators took to leave the scene. State Police Crime Lab testing confirmed the presence of the victim’s blood and DNA on an item found by investigators.

Investigators identified Moscaritolo, Mark C. O’Brien and James W. Ferguson, both now 44 years old, as the three men who broke into McKenna’s house in the early morning hours of September 16th and robbed and murdered him. O’Brien is believed to have been the driver of the car used in this incident.

On May 2, 2019, after a several week trial, a jury found Moscaritolo guilty on one count each of Aggravated Burglary and Unarmed Robbery, and five counts of Larceny of a Firearm, but failed to reach a verdict on the homicide charge and a mistrial was declared. The Commonwealth vowed to retry the case.

“Massachusetts State Police Detectives together with Marshfield Police worked tirelessly to solve this murder,” DA Cruz said. “This crime was complex with several defendants and I commend the excellent police work of investigators to close out this case and bring all of those involved with committing this horrific murder to justice.”

In addition to the Murder charge, today Moscaritolo was sentenced to serve 30-40 years in State Prison to run concurrent with the State Prison sentence on the Aggravated Burglary and Unarmed Robbery charges. He was also sentenced to serve 4-5 years in State Prison on five counts of Larceny of a Firearm to run concurrent.

O’Brien and Ferguson were each convicted on one count each of Murder, Larceny and gun charges. They were both sentenced to serve Life without the Possibility of Parole.

Thirty-five year old Lauren Kalil of Quincy pleaded guilty previously to one count each of Accessory after the Fact to Murder and Misleading a Police Officer. Her sentencing has not been scheduled.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Christine Kiggen, Jessica Elumba and Kathleen Kramer, and was investigated by State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, Marshfield Police, State Police Crime Scene Services, the State Police Crime Lab, State Police Search and Rescue Team, State Police K-9 Officers and the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Team.

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February 5, 2020