A judge ruled Monday that the man accused of the triple murder that rocked the Newton, Massachusetts, community in June is “not competent” to stand trial at this time due to mental illness.
Following the decision of Newton District Court Judge Jennifer Quealy, Christopher Ferguson, 41, will remain at Bridgewater State Hospital, the psychiatric facility where he was already confined.
After reading a competency assessment completed last week, prosecutors said during a Zoom hearing Monday that they could not meet the charge to determine competency.
Ferguson, who appeared from Bridgewater State Hospital via video link for Monday’s hearing, is scheduled for a probable cause hearing on Oct. 10.
Monday’s ruling does not mean that Ferguson will not go to trial for the June 25 murders. Lev told The Boston Globe that Ferguson’s jurisdiction will be reassessed roughly every six months and that his jurisdiction to stand trial could change.
“If it is determined that he has regained competence, either because he was treated or medicated, his case would continue on the regular path to a criminal trial,” he said.
Ferguson was arrested on June 26, one day after the murders of Jill D’Amore, 73, her husband Bruno D’Amore, 74, and their mother, Lucia Arpino, 97. Jill and Bruno D’Amore were supposed to renew their 50th anniversary wedding vows at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church the day they were murdered.
Ferguson pleaded not guilty at his initial court appearance in June.
All three victims were found by a close friend and neighbor, who called 911 after discovering the bodies in a bedroom. Responding officers found all three dead inside their home on Broadway Street in Newton, apparently having suffered blunt force trauma and stab wounds, according to authorities.
Police also noted signs of forced entry.
Ferguson was arrested after forensic analysis of ceramic tiles outside the bedroom showed bloody traces of bare feet, according to prosecutors. The footprints led authorities to arrest Ferguson, who was identified after being seen on surveillance footage walking shirtless and shoeless and “what appeared to be a wobbly gait” on Albermarle Road, less than a mile from the scene. of the crime and about 100 yards from his own home on Washington Street, according to prosecutors. Investigators have said they believe the attack on the family was random. Ferguson did not appear to have any connection to the victims.
