A Massachusetts teenager was allegedly killed by her stepfather in an alleged murder-suicide, authorities said.
According to a joint statement released by Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan and Acton Police Chief James Cogan on Thursday, May 30, an unnamed 16-year-old girl and her stepfather Juliano Santana were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds in Santana’s vehicle this week.
Authorities said the suspect was walking home from school when she was abducted and killed by her stepfather in a nearby parking lot. Police said Santana then killed himself.
Authorities were able to locate Santana by contacting his probation officer, who was able to track his location through a GPS monitoring device placed on him because of the pending case.
That case also involved Santana’s stepdaughter, who reported in 2021 that he sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.
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At that time, Santana was arrested and brought to court on 6 counts of aggravated rape of a child, with bail set at $30,000.
He had “conditions to be placed on a GPS tracking device, to stay away from and have no contact with the victim, and to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18,” police said.
Santana’s stepdaughter also had an active restraining order against him, according to authorities.
The investigation into the deaths of Santana and his stepdaughter is still ongoing.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line by dialing 988, texting “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Line at 741741 or going to 988lifeline.org.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education