WORCESTER — A city man is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on a murder charge in the fatal beating last year of his girlfriend, 51-year-old Christine Bolduc.
A city man is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on a murder charge in the fatal beating last year of his girlfriend, 51-year-old Christine Bolduc.
Robert Bell, 57, of 16 Hillside Ave., had previously been charged with assault with intent to murder Ms. Bolduc and assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, and was being held in lieu of $250,000 cash bail while awaiting trial in Worcester Superior Court.
A murder charge was lodged against him in Central District Court two days after Ms. Bolduc, who never regained consciousness after being attacked on the morning of May 3, 2011, died July 21 at a local hospital. Police said the woman, who was found in a pool of blood in an alley next to 50 Millbury St., suffered severe head injuries.
Mr. Bell stands accused of striking Ms. Bolduc with some type of blunt object, causing significant brain injuries.
Lawyer John M. Goggins, who represented Mr. Bell on the charges pending in Worcester Superior Court, told Judge Richard T. Tucker this morning that he was moving to withdraw from the case because of an unspecified conflict that had arisen. Mr. Goggins also reported that a complaint charging Mr. Bell with murder had been issued out of Central District Court.
He told the judge he had been in contact with the state Committee for Public Counsel Services, which would appoint a lawyer from its so-called “murder list” to represent Mr. Bell on the murder charge. While Mr. Bell was to have been arraigned on the murder charge today, Mr. Goggins said CPCS could not have a lawyer available until Monday.
Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett confirmed that a complaint charging Mr. Bell with Ms. Bolduc’s murder was issued July 23 and that the arraignment would take place Monday in the district court.
According to a search warrant affidavit on file in Central District Court, Mr. Bell told investigators that he lived with Ms. Bolduc and they had been dating since 2006. He allegedly told police he was with her on May 2, 2011, and they went to a liquor store and bought alcohol.
He said Ms. Bolduc left the couple’s apartment and never returned, according to the affidavit. Mr. Bell told police he went out to look for her, but never found her.
Detectives said they located surveillance video showing a man walking into the alley twice before the injured Ms. Bolduc was found. A witness reportedly told police the man in the video was Mr. Bell.
The affidavit said Mr. Bell had reddish-brown stains on his jacket. He then told investigators he encountered Ms. Bolduc in the alley, but denied attacking her.
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