Updated: May 8, 8:35 a.m.
The story of a grisly murder in Boston this weekend has become more complicated and bizarre as new details emerge, raising questions about a possible relationship between the victims — a pair of well-respected doctors engaged to be married — and the suspect, who had recently been released from jail.
As Crime Online previously reported, Dr. Lina Balanos and Dr. Richard Field, both anesthesiologists, were found with their throats slashed in their 11th-floor penthouse apartment in South Boston Friday night. Police had responded to an emergency call about a man seen in the building with a gun, and the suspect shot at officers as they approached him.
“When [officers] walked in, right away they were confronted with gunfire from an individual who had just killed two people,” Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told the Boston Herald. “There was a shootout, and our officers were able to take the suspect down.”
The officers subdued but did not critically injure the suspect, Bampumim Teixeira, 30, of Chelsea. Balanos and Field were discovered dead in their apartment after a SWAT team arrived to the scene, according to the Boston Globe.
Bampumim Teixeira: Full Story & Must-See Details Of Murder Suspect https://t.co/Sqd4c0mkpe pic.twitter.com/ZyVUHYXzJx
— ALR12 (@aguilucholere) May 6, 2017
Police sources reportedly told WCVB that it appeared as though the couple was acquainted with their suspected murderer, but the nature of the relationship remains unclear.
A police source who reportedly spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Boston Globe that the killer left a “message of retribution,” possibly written in the victims’ blood. While the Boston Globe report states there was blood found on the walls, it is not known for sure if the message of retribution was written on a wall, as a previous version of this story indicated.
The Boston Globe also spoke to Teixeira’s former girlfriend, who did not give her name. She told the newspaper that she heard from the suspect, who had recently finished a prison sentence for a bank robbery, in late April, when he texted her to say that he did not expect to live for very long, and that he was “not a good person.”
The Boston Globe further reported that Dr. Field texted a friend for help, saying that an armed intruder was in his apartment.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Photo: North Shore Pain Management/Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
