By Sydney Lupkin, Globe Correspondent | August 11, 2010
A Brockton woman who confessed to killing a retired schoolteacher blamed the victim for “taking away the love of her life,’’ a prosecutor said yesterday at her arraignment.
Eunice Field, 54, appeared behind glass in Brockton District Court as she was arraigned on a murder charge, wordlessly looking out over the courtroom as her defense lawyer entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
Judge Julie S. Bernard ordered Field held without bail. Her next court appearance was scheduled for Sept. 3.
Less than 24 hours before the hearing, Field allegedly arrived for a noon appointment with retired teacher Lorraine Wachsman, 62, at her Bridgewater home. There, Field stabbed Wachsman three or four times in the back and neck with a kitchen knife, according to Assistant District Attorney Thomas Flanagan.
She reported the attack at Brockton police headquarters, where she surrendered wearing bloodied clothes.
Bridgewater police later found Wachsman about 3 feet inside the door of her condo, lying on a bloodstained carpet, according to the police report. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Field “indicated that she had no remorse for what she had done,’’ Flanagan said.
Flanagan said Field blamed Wachsman for her breakup with Renee Williams, 46, and left a note for Williams to find that explained Wachsman got what she deserved “for taking away the love of her life,’’ Flanagan said.
Although Flanagan told the court Field was lucid, her defense lawyer, John Darrell of Dedham, said she told officers she was bipolar and supposed to be on medication. It was not clear whether she had taken her medication at the time of the attack.
Field had moved to Tennessee to start a new life after she and Williams broke up, but she returned and was living with Williams in Brockton as friends, Flanagan said.
Williams was unavailable for comment yesterday.
The Globe reported yesterday that Field, Wachsman, and Williams had known one another for 15 years; and Clara Madore, 67, who owns the building where Field and Williams lived, said she never noticed a problem among the three.
Wachsman was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and often served as a mentor, friends said. Flanagan said Wachsman came to know Williams through AA and that Wachsman served as Williams’s volunteer counselor. The breakup had to do with an intervention, Flanagan said, but he did not elaborate.
Field has one other item on her criminal record in Brockton: She was found guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence in 2001. A charge alleging she was found in possession of a class A drug, such as heroin, was continued without a finding.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz called the attack tragic because Wachsman was “trying to help people.’’
In Bridgewater, a 5-foot tall cross draped in white cloth and a wreath stood on the lawn outside Wachsman’s vacant home. Flowers, a candle, and a teddy bear rested at its base with a note from friends.
From his car, a mourner who offered only his first name, Pat, called the victim bubbly and energetic. He said he knew Wachsman from AA meetings and saw her Sunday night.
“You wouldn’t forget her once you’d met her,’’ Pat said.
Sydney Lupkin can be reached at slupkin@globe.com.
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