The suspect accused of killing two Boston doctors inside their penthouse wrote haunting messages on the walls of the crime scene, according to new testimony in the double murder trial.
Lina Bolanos, 39, and Richard Field, 48, both well-known anesthesiologists, had desperately tried alerting authorities before they were stabbed to death in 2017.
Jurors could begin deliberations this week on the fate of Bampumim Teixeira, who has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors say Teixeira lurked around the building – which he briefly worked at as a concierge – and found the right time to sneak in and make it to the doctors’ 11th floor penthouse and kill them.
“(Field was found) dead in a pool of his own blood. His hands bound behind his back with handcuffs,” Assistant District Attorney John Pappas said during the trial, according to CNN affiliate WCVB. “Lina Bolanos was also in a pool of her blood after having been stabbed repeatedly in the neck.”
The defense says there’s not enough proof.
“No video, no audio, no scientific evidence, no credible evidence will tell you that Bampumim Teixeira broke into the home of Lina Bolanos and Richard Field and murdered them,” defense attorney Steven Sack argued. “And that’s because he didn’t.”
Calls and texts pleading for help
Matthias Heidenreich – a friend of the two doctors – testified in the trial’s first week he received a series of texts from Field that a gunman was in their apartment and to call 911. He testified he responded but got no answer.
The messages started “Call 111,” an apparent reference to 911, then “Gun man”, “in house” before ending with “Serious,” according to the Boston Herald.
Authorities were first contacted around 8:30 p.m. on May 5 by the concierge, who had been alerted by a concerned friend following a text from Field, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said in a news release in 2017.
In later testimony, Bolanos’ godmother, Amanda Gibbs, said she recognized “Lina’s voice” in a phone call to 911 that was played during the trial.
In the call, Bolanos’ voice came out muffled. And when she was unable to respond to repeated questions, the operator said she was “releasing the call” and hung up, CNN affiliate WCVB reported.
Fields also tried calling for help – he called 911 eight times, Boston Police Department Sgt. Scott Mackie testified, according to CNN affiliate WHDH.
His phone log showed the calls lasted no longer than two seconds, Mackie testified.
A message scribbled on the wall
When police stepped into the bloody crime scene, they saw photos crossed out and marked, Boston Police Department Sgt. Edward Meade testified.
On the wall, officers saw the words “payback” and “he killed my wife,” Meade testified, according to CNN affiliate WHDH.
The couple had been beaten and their hands were duct taped, Boston homicide detective Daniel Duff testified, according to the news station.
Teixeira was taken into custody in the hallway and he told police there were dead bodies in the penthouse, Boston police detective Sean Wallace testified.
“Then he said, ‘you guys are going to die.’ Then he said, ‘they killed my wife.’ Then he mentioned something and I heard the word ‘sniper,”’ the detective said in court.
Outside the apartment, where Teixeira was taken into custody, police found a backpack with a replica firearm and jewelry, the district attorney’s release said. A carving knife and a bright yellow shirt were also found nearby, the release said.
Earlier that same day, a person wearing gloves, a bright yellow shirt and a hooded jacket and carrying a backpack sneaked into the building’s garage before the couple arrived, the release said.
Jurors saw all those items in court, CNN affiliate WCVB reported. The shirt, shown in court, was stained.
“Although the why to this story may never be fully explained to your satisfaction, the who will absolutely never be in doubt,” Pappas said in court.
The trial will resume Wednesday.