Sunday, July 25, 2010

Somerville, MA: Her long struggle ends in death

Plagued by mental illness, 33-year-old is shot after slashing 3 police officers
By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff | July 24, 2010
SOMERVILLE — The woman who was shot and killed by police after she allegedly slashed three officers in her home yesterday morning had a history of mental illness, yet attempts to provide her treatment had failed, right up until the hours before the shooting, according to police, court records, and interviews with friends and neighbors.

Carol Lynn Kingsley, a 33-year-old mother who lost custody of her only child nearly four years ago, had been brought by emergency responders to Cambridge Hospital for a mental health evaluation at 3 a.m. yesterday, less than four hours before the shooting. A neighbor had called police complaining that she was fighting with her boyfriend.

But she was released from the hospital, and by 6:30 a.m. her neighbors’ and friends’ worst fears for her safety had materialized: Police were called to her Sycamore Terrace home again after Kingsley allegedly hit her boyfriend and tried to set fire to his clothes. She allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife, barricaded herself inside her bathroom, and started slashing and stabbing at the officers, according to authorities.

At one point, one of the officers fired a shot, killing Kingsley.

“She had her problems, but I never saw anything like this coming,’’ said Peter Cusick of Belmont, who had a six-year romantic relationship with Kingsley, but who stopped communicating with her in recent weeks because of her problems with alcohol.

Chris Willett, her boyfriend of recent months, told reporters that he did not see the final confrontation with police. “It’s painful,’’ he said.

Officials said yesterday that the shooting remains under investigation.

One officer suffered stab sounds to his back, shoulder, and arm, and another was stabbed in his back and arm. The third officer suffered wounds to his hand.

Police Chief Michael Cabral said the officers — who were later identified as Marc DiFava, Dante DiFronzo, and Jose Ramirez — were treated at Massachusetts General Hospital and returned home yesterday. He said the shooting was justified and followed police protocol.

“The officers did what they were trained to do, but for them and anyone involved, it’s still a very sad, tragic situation,’’ said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, who visited the officers in the hospital as a show of support and thanks. “We wish there was no loss of life whatsoever.’’

Those who knew Kingsley said that even though they long feared her substance abuse and mental illnesses would endanger her, they never thought it would lead to a violent death at the hands of police.

“It’s just a shame it got to this point,’’ said a neighbor, 48-year-old Ed Lavelle.

Kingsley had soured her relationship with her neighbors, for blasting her music and television, screaming obscenities, causing fights, and attracting the attention of police at all hours of the day, they said. She piled trash on the porch, and one time tried to jump from a balcony, neighbors said.

But they realized she suffered from problems, too. She drank at all times, and confined herself to her apartment, the neighbors said. One neighbor complained that she would scream in the middle of the night, “I will kill you,’’ or “Kill God, kill the devil.’’

Cusick said yesterday that Kingsley had drinking problems when they first met, but not to the extent of recent years. For a while, she enjoyed going to Red Sox games and NASCAR races. She had a daughter, who is about 8 years old now, but lost custody of her several years ago because of her problems.

It was then that Kingsley quickly eroded: She was kicked out of an apartment in Watertown for causing disturbances, and was being evicted from her home in Somerville for the same reason, according to Cusick and court records.

Cusick said he told Kingsley in June that he would stop communicating with her if she did not stop drinking. He had not spoken to her since.

Kingsley’s substance abuse coincides with a history of violence, including attacks against police, according to court records. A decade ago, she was charged with attacking a woman for no reason at a bus stop in Somerville. The case was continued without a finding after she served probation for six months.

Last year, she allegedly broke into a woman’s house in Somerville at random, accused the woman of stealing her bag and attacking her. She then allegedly attacked the police officers who arrested her and spat at them.

She was charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime and putting a person in fear, assault and battery on a police officer, and destruction of property. The case was slated to go to trial in September.

Kingsley was also taken into police custody in June for allegedly acting disorderly and assaulting police officers. While in custody, she allegedly threatened to blow up the police station.

She was never charged, however, Police instead brought her to Cambridge Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, according to a law enforcement official who is not authorized to speak publicly about the case. The official said that Somerville police planned to seek criminal charges against Kingsley on Monday. The outcome of the hospital visit was not clear yesterday.

A spokesman for Cambridge Health Alliance, which operates Cambridge Hospital, said yesterday that he could not comment on Kingsley’s visits because of privacy rules. She had been seeing a doctor at Cambridge Health Alliance for more than eight years, according to court records filed in her landlord’s attempts to evict her from her Somerville home. She had not been paying rent, the court records said.

Willett, who had called police about Kingsley before, told reporters that he was still trying to determine the sequence of the events. “I think she just felt very strongly about something and she decided to act on those feelings and, unfortunately, police dealt with it,’’ he said.

But he also said he wanted to probe her mental health evaluation yesterday morning.

John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com.

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