The public had spent months believing that an 88-year-old woman on Washington Avenue succumbed to the oppressive heat in July. Public health warnings were even issued following her death, urging residents to monitor elderly neighbors during the summer heat wave.
From the beginning, however, law enforcement possessed knowledge of criminal involvement but maintained silence to pursue their investigation.
Hilda DeVincenzo, 88, a longtime Chelsea resident, was murdered on July 3, according to investigators and District Attorney Dan Conley’s office. Her remains went undiscovered for four days, even though neighbors reported hearing her screams and noting her absence.
The extreme temperatures played no role in her death. Instead, authorities identified Chelsea resident Felix Melendez, 35, as her killer. On Wednesday, he faced first-degree murder charges in Suffolk Superior Court.
Melendez appeared before Clerk Magistrate Connie Wong on charges including first-degree murder, robbery of a person over 60, and receiving stolen property exceeding $250. Following a request from Assistant District Attorney Tara Burdman, Wong ordered him held without bail.
“Thanks to the professionalism of Chelsea’s first responders and the careful, methodical work of investigators, we now have a much clearer picture of what happened in Ms. Devincenzo’s apartment,” Conley said. “It is, unfortunately, a deeply disturbing picture. We will do everything in our power to hold accountable the person responsible for this tragedy.”
DeVincenzo occupied a second-floor apartment alone in a triple-decker building at 649 Washington Ave. She had rented the third floor to Melendez and his girlfriend earlier in the year.
According to prosecutors, Melendez told a neighbor on July 3 that he was conducting electrical work for DeVincenzo, who he described as “driving him crazy” about having repairs completed. The neighbor subsequently heard running sounds, a scream, and a loud noise emanating from the victim’s unit, identifying the scream as DeVincenzo’s. The neighbor, also a tenant of DeVincenzo’s, did not report the incident to police.
On July 7, firefighters arrived at the address after smoke was detected in the building. Melendez claimed to have discovered and extinguished a basement fire. While present, firefighters conducted a welfare check on DeVincenzo at the request of others.
They discovered her dead in her apartment.
The body showed advanced decomposition. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s autopsy determined the cause of death as compression injuries to the neck and torso, resulting in fractures to her thyroid cartilage, ribs, spine, and sternum.
Several personal items were found missing from DeVincenzo’s bedroom. Her wedding band and engagement ring—jewelry her family confirmed she wore constantly—were absent from her body.
The wedding band surfaced at Gold ‘N Oldies jewelry shop in Everett, where Melendez had sold it and provided his driver’s license for identification. Investigators obtained a photocopy of the license from the shop. Officers recovered the engagement ring inside Melendez’s apartment during a search warrant execution.
A fingerprint discovered on a plastic bag in the victim’s bedroom matched one of Melendez’s fingers.
Investigation by the Chelsea Fire Department, Chelsea Police, and State Police detectives working with Conley’s office determined that the fire had been deliberately set.
Melendez is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 26.