New York police on Thursday arrested a Massachusetts man wanted in the stabbing deaths of his girlfriend and her mother at Worcester senior living apartment.
Sergia Acosta, 76, and Ana Maria Martinez, 58, were found dead last Saturday afternoon in Acosta’s apartment on Main Street. Both have been stabbed to death and were pronounced dead at the scene, the Fall River Reporter said.
Police identified 59-year-old William Rodriguez as a suspect in the murders, saying he had been dating Martinez for about a year, according to WFXT. According to court records, police found a note in his apartment that read, “Women who make mistakes will receive what is coming.”
Police also said that he pleaded guilty in 2004 to manslaughter in the stabbing death of his first wife, Carmen Rodriguez. He served 15 years in prison and was released in 2019.
Acosta’s granddaughter, Genesis Berrios, told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that Rodriguez attacked Martinez and Acosta tried to intervene.
According to the Reporter, Rodriguez was taken into custody just after 12:30 p.m. on Thursday in New York City. The family was reportedly unaware of his past criminal record.
An obituary said Acosta worked as a tailor, and Martinez was a personal care assistant before taking care of her mother full time.
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[Featured image: Sergia Acosta and Ana Maria Martinez/Mercandante Funeral Home and Chapel]
