DA: Everett man found guilty of murdering his estranged wife

EVERETT, Mass. — An Everett man was found guilty of murder on Tuesday after he fatally shot his estranged wife in 2018, according to authorities.

After a 16-day trial in Middlesex Superior Court, Emilio Matarazzo has been found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the killing of his wide, Ersilla Cataldo Matarazzo on December 19, 2018.

The Middlesex DA’s Office says Matarazzo shot his wife multiple times while she sat in her car in her parents’ driveway on Central Avenue in Everett that morning after filing for divorce. The couple had been together for 30 years at that point.

A month before the murder, Ersilla filed for a divorce, citing a long history of verbal and physical abuse, and moved into her parents’ house.

On December 18, 2018, investigators say Emilio went to a Christmas party at St. Anthony’s Parish in Everett where Ersilla worked. He became angry and demanded to see his wife, even pushing his daughter in anger outside of the church when he was asked to leave, according to officials.

The next morning, Emilio shot and killed his wife with a Beretta .12 gauge shotgun.

He turned himself in to police later that day, where officers executed a search warrant on a Foster Street property owned by Emilio and found the murder weapon behind a workbench in the basement. Investigators say it bore the same serial number as the shotgun that was missing from the gun safe at his home.

Ersilla is remembered as a beloved member of the Everett community.

“Intimate partner violence continues to be a significant public safety and public health issue,” District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “Ms. Cataldo Matarazzo had been subjected to a long history of abuse that escalated when she tried to leave the defendant.  We know that when a victim decides to leave a relationship that time can be incredibly dangerous and in this case, Ersilia Cataldo Matarazzo was senselessly murdered.”

Matarazzo will be sentenced on August 10.

This marks the DA’s office’s second conviction in a domestic violence murder this month.

If you or someone you know is involved in a violent relationship with their significant other, resources are available here.

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