Cambridge man accused of murdering, dismembering roommate in Indiana

Crime

Police in Michigan Metropolis, Indiana, consider John Hallett killed his roommate in 2017, then disemboweled the physique and disposed of the stays in public trash cans.

Police have arrested a Cambridge man suspected of murdering and dismembering his roommate six years in the past in Indiana. 

John Hallett, 54, is accused of putting his roommate with a blunt object, choking him, disemboweling his physique, and disposing of the stays in numerous public trash cans, in accordance with Massachusetts State Police. He was arrested at his 15 Chester St. residence in Cambridge Thursday morning.

Final yr, police in Michigan Metropolis, Indiana, developed data tying Hallett to his roommate’s homicide, state police stated in a press launch.

In a separate launch, the Michigan Metropolis Police Division offered additional particulars on the investigation, which lasted practically one yr and included regulation enforcement businesses from 4 states.

The division stated Det. Lt. Anna Painter initiated a felony investigation on Aug. 29, 2022, after receiving a tip {that a} murder might need occurred inside a house within the 1000 block of West ninth Road in November 2017.

By way of her investigation, Painter recognized 64-year-old Michigan Metropolis resident Paul Gonzales because the sufferer and Hallett as a suspect, in accordance with the press launch.

“Over the course of a murder investigation by Michigan Metropolis Police, a cadaver canine was deployed inside the previous residence of Hallett and his roommate and alerted to the scent of human stays within the basement,” Massachusetts State Police stated. 

Officers collected proof that confirmed the presence of decomposing stays within the basement, and police obtained an arrest warrant charging Hallett with homicide, in accordance with state police He has additionally been charged with abuse of a corpse.

Michigan Metropolis police and U.S. Marshals in Indiana found that Hallett was dwelling in Cambridge, and a Cambridge police detective narrowed down his handle Thursday, state police stated. 

After his arrest, Hallett was transported to the Middlesex Jail & Home of Correction in Billerica, the place he’s being held with out bond. He now awaits extradition to the LaPorte County Jail in Indiana.

It was not instantly clear whether or not Hallett had an lawyer who might communicate to the allegations.