We promised the family of Karen Marchioni to shed some light on why a recent murder and an arrest may be good news for a family who has been in the dark for nearly 21 years now.
In October, on the south side of Framingham, Eric Hargrett was murdered. From to phone records, it was immediately detetmined that the two suspects sought were brothers, Aaron and Eugene Sutton Jr. Aaron was nearly immediately collared and has been awaiting trial, while his brother had been on the lam, until the end of January, when it was reported he had been located in California, unexpectedly deceased.
To look at this case, we have to go back in time, over two decades back.
Karen Marchioni at age 41, was stabbed to in her home on October 8th 2001.
She was able to get out one 9-1-1 call for help and when police arrived was found in a puddle of blood, stabbed in her face and neck.
She was found alive by police and was airlifted to the hospital, where she died hours later.
This case has never been to court even though a lead suspect was supposedly named in 2005 – over 15 years ago. That suspect has been court for other infractions dozens of times since then, but has never been held in relation to Karen’s murder. That lead suspect, Aaron Sutton.
Every attempt by Karen’s family to obtain info about the murder, the current investigatory status, etc, has been met with dead ends. Its not been for a lack of trying. Karen’s daughter, then 14, has been fighting for updates for years.
She writes:
“These brothers murdered my mom in 2001 and nothing has been done. Aaron has been arrested several times since then, for very violent crimes. Despite being listed as homeless, he always gets off with no jail time. The police have never updated me on my moms case, no one gives a shit or reaches out. Since her murder I initiated and successfully met with law enforcement once about the case. During that meeting I was gaslit, lied to, dismissed and disrespected. When I asked how Aaron keeps committing these crimes and not going to jail I was told with a smirk “he has a good lawyer” but he’s homeless?”
In 2005, in an article, a lead suspect was named. In that Metrowest Daily News article, a Framingham Police Lieutenant stated that Aaron Sutton had been named the primary suspect. At the time of that article, Sutton had just been arrested on charges of trying to kill his girlfriend at the time. Per the family, that Lieutenant was “relocated” months later, and after his departure, the ADA began denying that Sutton was ever named.
Unfortunately for that ADA – a copy of that article remains in the hands of the family. The Metrowest Daily News, retracted that article claiming that the information was “accidentally” emailed to them in 2005.
Accidentally emailed and not-true are two different things.
Karen’s daughter went on to say:
“It’s clear as day that once the police knew who killed my mom, they stopped investigating. During the initial few days after her murder they didn’t take anyone’s finger prints like you would think they would to rule out her friends, family etc. they didn’t check alibis, zero follow up. They have DNA that they refuse to test and will give no information because it’s “an open investigation. Aaron Sutton was a key witness in a murder trial before my moms death and it seems the police have been covering for him ever since. And now another person is dead, in part, because of their incompetence.”
We are asking the current DA’s office to seriously look at the currently incarcerated Aaron Sutton and re-open the Marchioni files to see if an additional murder charge is appropriate for Sutton. Lets get the Marchioni’s the closure they deserve… after all these years.