Man murders girlfriend then goes after his own parents at a relative’s birthday party
Benjamin Walsh, 24, is charged with murdering his 20-year-old girlfriend, Olivia Bergstrom, in the couple’s Needham, Massachusetts, apartment on February 10 and then driving to a restaurant in nearby Millis where he stabbed his parents. The Millis Police Department reports that Walsh’s parents were at the Primavera Restaurant in Millis where they were attending a relative’s 70th birthday party, according to NBC News. Other relatives in attendance at the party were able to restrain Walsh until police arrived on the scene.
According to the Millis Police Department report, he [Walsh] was combative when taken into custody. He repeatedly yelled, “I’m going to kill you all.” ~ per WCVB
Walsh’s father, Mike Walsh, was already suspicious that his son may have been involved when he heard the news about a murder in his son’s town of Needham. The Boston Globe reports that the father “feared the worst” and that his family, “is ‘”devastated”’ for Bergstrom and her family. He called the victim ‘”the sweetest kid.”’
The suspect’s dad went on to say that his son has a history of mental health issues and substance abuse. Benjamin Walsh had checked himself out of a psychiatric facility two days before he killed his girlfriend.
Benjamin Walsh’s mother sustained life-threatening stab wounds at the hands of her own son. She is listed as being in serious condition but is expected to survive. The father was treated at the hospital and released.
Following the attack on his parents, the suspect was transported to the Milford Hospital and handcuffed to his hospital bed. He was arraigned there yesterday, according to CBS News in Boston. Both of his hands were bandaged.
Mass Live reports that when police broke into the apartment Walsh shared with Bergstrom, that they found her lifeless body “jammed” behind the door and wearing minimal clothing. She had been stabbed multiple times, according to Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Lisa Beatty.
An autopsy of Bergstrom was conducted on Sunday, which ruled her death a homicide and the cause of death multiple stab wounds.
“The victim had suffered 13 stab wounds to her back, three stab wounds to her abdomen, one on her left wrist, her left shoulder and four wounds on her tricep and bicep,” Beatty said during the arraignment.
“There were additional stab wounds on her upper left buttock area and her lower spine and there were some puncture marks in her upper chest area.”
The suspect is being held on $500,000 cash bail on two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of resisting arrest in connection regarding the stabbings of his parents. Walsh was also charged with Bergstrom’s murder and held without bail on that murder charge. He’ll be in court facing all those charges in mid-March.
~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
