2010 Violent Start - Domestic Violence in Massachusetts Suburbia

On Jan. 23, Fitchburg State College freshman Allison Myrick, 19, of Groton, was stabbed to death, allegedly by her boyfriend, Robert Gulla, 19, of Shirley. Gulla stabbed and shot himself, but survived, police said.

On Jan. 17, a 23-year-old Seekonk man and a 20-year-old woman died in an apparent murder-suicide at a motel in North Attleborough after police tried to arrest the man on an outstanding warrant, authorities said.

On Jan. 14, police said, a Spencer man facing a foreclosure auction took his own life after shooting and killing his wife, shooting their horse, setting fire to their home, and torching his pickup.

"WESTFORD -- Olivia Marchand told a police dispatcher she was safe just seconds before her father shot and killed her. After killing his daughter, Brian Marchand then shot and wounded his wife, Jody, before committing suicide with the same gun, authorities said today. This is another extremely disturbing case of domestic violence where Brian Marchand shot both his wife and his teenage daughter,'' Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said at a news conference.

Jody Marchand, 50, was rushed to UMass Medical Center in Worcester, where she was listed in critical condition today.

Olivia Marchand was 17 years old, a popular senior at Westford Academy who planned to attend the University of Vermont next fall.

Police said the Marchand shooting was eerily similar to the Jan. 9 attempted domestic murder and suicide here, in which Frederick Leduc allegedly shot his wife, Karen, 43, before turning the gun on himself. Karen Leduc died the next day. Frederick Leduc survived and is facing murder charges.

A protracted domestic dispute apparently sparked a knife attack on two women at a plastics warehouse Sunday morning.

The estranged boyfriend of one of the women allegedly slashed her throat, then cut the face of a female co-worker who came to her aid. All three were working at the warehouse at the time.

Aaron N. Valenzuela, 23, of 211 Mechanic St., was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail, or $1 million in surety, at his arraignment yesterday in Leominster District Court.

A native of Guatemala who may be in the U.S. illegally, he also cut his own wrists and throat while on the run from police for more than three hours after the incident at United Solutions, 33 Patriot’s Circle, in the Jytek Industrial Park off Route 12. He was discovered hiding in an apple crate at Sholan Farm, a few miles from the warehouse.