A man accused of killing his father in their Plymouth, Massachusetts, home in August was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday, moving the case to Plymouth Superior Court, prosecutors announced.
A Plymouth County grand jury indicted Matthew Paluzzi, 26, on a murder charge. A not guilty plea was previously entered on Paluzzi's behalf when he was initially arraigned in Plymouth District Court.
Grand juries review major cases in Massachusetts, and their indictments move prosecutions from district-level courts into counties' superior courts.
Paluzzi is accused of killing his father, 73-year-old Anthony Paluzzi, on Aug. 15. The elder Paluzzi was found fatally wounded by his wife, Matthew's mother, and reported to police in a 911 call about 6:26 a.m.
Matthew Paluzzi was later taken into custody in Hanover amid a police search.
Prosecutors have said he admitted he "snapped," prosecutors told a judge at his initial arraignment; he'll appear again in Plymouth Superior Court to face the indictment at a later date.
The murder accusation violated the conditions of Paluzzi's probation, the judge found at that initial arraignment, for what prosecutors said was a seemingly random incident in which he pointed a registered gun at a woman in an ATM drive-thru and asked, "do you want to die?"
Anthony Paluzzi's wife found him "covered in blood and a kitchen knife on the floor near the front door," prosecutors have said, while the first responders she called for found him "slumped on living room couch with a significant amount of blood around his neck."
Matthew Paluzzi lived at the house on Cedar Street, and his mother saw him just before finding her husband fatally wounded, according to prosecutors.
When Matthew Paluzzi was taken into custody in Hanover, troopers saw "what appeared to be fresh blood stains on his hooded sweatshirt and his sweatpants," and his hands later tested presumptively positive for blood, prosecutors said.
He told investigators he "snapped," and had mental health issued, then invoked his right to remain silent, prosecutors said.
A neighbor said he once heard Matthew yell at Anthony, "I'm going to f------ kill you," and his half-brother said he once heard Matthew say, "I can't wait for Anthony to die." The half-brother also said it was common to hear Matthew yell at his parents.
Investigators also learned about his mental health from his mother, who said his condition had recently taken a downturn after Matthew started smoking marijuana. She also said that her husband once complained of pain in his abdomen after their son "came at him."
After the arraignment, Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruz spoke about the allegations. He said the matter remained under investigation and didn't rule out that more charges would be brought.
Asked about what prosecutors said in court about Matthew Paluzzi allegedly having been heard threatening his father, Cruz said it's a challenge for police.
"We need to live in a world of accountability, we need to live in a world where we're helping people as best we can," he said.
Video from Massachusetts State Police shows officers catching up to Matthew Paluzzi’s Nissan Murano and quickly surrounding it before taking him into custody.
"I know they had some problems, but you can't even imagine this happening," said Lisa Caola, neighbor.
