SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A former Augusta, Maine, man was found guilty of murder and other charges Friday for his role in the kidnapping and slaying of three Massachusetts men in 2011.
“I’ll see you all in hell,” Caius Veiovis, 34, of Pittsfield, who had bumps implanted in his head to resemble horns, yelled at the jury that convicted him after deliberating for six days. Veiovis also was convicted Friday of kidnapping and intimidation of a witness.
Additional Images
The dismembered bodies of David Glasser, 44; Edward Frampton, 58; and Robert Chadwell, 47, of Pittsfield were found buried in nearby Becket 10 days after they disappeared in August 2011. The killings shocked Pittsfield, a town of about 41,000 in northwestern Massachusetts. The trial was moved to Springfield.
Veiovis legally changed his name from Roy Gutfinski Jr. in 2008 while serving more than seven years in a Maine prison for an assault in which he watched his girlfriend cut a teenage girl with a razor, then licked the victim’s blood.
Two co-defendants in the Massachusetts case were convicted of the same charges earlier this year. They are serving life without parole, the mandatory term Veiovis faces at his sentencing Monday.
Prosecutors said Veiovis helped Adam Lee Hall, 37, of Peru, and David Chalue, 47, of North Adams, kidnap and shoot the victims weeks before Glasser was to testify against Hall, a Hells Angels member, in an assault case. The others were killed to eliminate witnesses, prosecutors said. Defense attorneys argued there was shaky evidence.
Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless said he is gratified by the verdicts and hopes it helps the victims’ families by ending “the constant reminder to them of what has happened to their loved ones,” the Springfield Republican reported.
Defense attorney James Reardon Jr. said he disagrees with the verdict but respects the jury’s diligence, the Republican reported. “I always have confidence in juries, and I still believe strongly in the American jury system,” he said. He said Veiovis has an automatic appeal, and he hopes the verdict is overturned.
Reardon said before trial that he was concerned Veiovis’ appearance might influence jurors, and potential panel members were asked about it.
Veiovis has a 666 tattoo between two rows of forehead bumps, and other facial and neck tattoos.
Veiovis was raised in Pittston, Maine, and lived in Waterville, Bangor and Augusta before moving to Massachusetts after his Maine prison release several years ago. His criminal history began at age 13, when he was arrested for carrying a double-bladed assault-style knife.
His teen life of drugs, violence and crime, recounted in a September 2011 Kennebec Journal story, culminated in Maine when in 2000, at age 20, he was convicted of elevated aggravated assault after he watched as a 17-year-old girlfriend cut a 16-year-old girl with a razor, then they both licked her blood. The wound required 32 stitches to close.
He served 7 1/2 years of a 10-year-sentence. The prosecutor at the time, Deputy District Attorney Allan Kelley, recommended he get the maximum sentence.
“Despite the constant efforts of a supportive and loving family, he has consistently lashed out at them, and at society as a whole,” Kelley wrote in a June 2000 pre-sentencing memo. “It appears that he has attempted to do whatever he could to ‘shock’ his family and society, perhaps even attempting to instill a ‘fear’ of what he might do next. He has proven himself to be deeply psychogically disturbed, and obviously dangerous to those around him.”
Kelley also wrote that Veiovis claimed that during a psychiatric hospital stay as a teenager “a ‘nun’ had told him he was ‘psycho, evil and that he would grow up to be a murderer.'”
In October 2011, while in jail for the Massachusetts triple murder, he wrote a letter to the media, received by The Berkshire Eagle newspaper, complaining about speculation of the origin of his new name, which some media said came from the “Twilight” series.
He disparaged that theory, saying he wouldn’t waste his time reading those books and “Popular culture makes me vomit hot blood.”
Veiovis said his first and middle names — Caius and Domitius — were inspired by “the great Roman emperors Caligula and Nero,” and his last name is from “an ancient Etruscan daemon.”
In a postscript to the letter, he referenced the families of those killed in the triple slaying. “I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families involved in this tragic case.”
But he adds, “the deceased are not the only victims here.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.