Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 14, 2020 Murder at Cliftondale Square Everett man kills brother-in-law at Saugus gas station before killing himself in Everett cemetery MURDERED MECHANIC: Frank A. Trombetta, 63, of Everett, died last Friday from gunshot wounds in an incident outside his workplace, the Mobil gas station in Cliftondale. Police identified the man who shot him as his brother-in-law, William P. McFeely, who later killed himself in Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett. (Courtesy Photo) By Mark E. Vogler and Christopher Roberson Police Officer Christopher Taylor moves evidence on a rainy, windy Friday. P olice described it as a bold, calculated killing that William P. McFeely committed shortly after noon last Friday in front of several stunned customers outside the Mobil gas station at 2 Essex St. McFeely drove his white Mini Cooper into the gas station, got out of the car and walked over to where one of the mechanics – Frank A. Trombetta – was working. He then aimed and fired his shotgun, hitting Trombetta twice in the chest, according to police reports. Trombetta, who was McFeely’s brother-in-law, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. McFeely fled the scene. Police immediately began searching for McFeely and told Everett school administrators to have students and faculty shelter in place at multiple schools in the city as a precaution. But police later located his car – parked in Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett – where they found McFeely dead inside from what they determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Both men were 63 and longtime Everett residents. Salvatore Rocco & Sons Funeral Homes is in charge of the funeral arrangements for both men. Police are calling it a murdersuicide. Meanwhile, state police detectives assigned to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and other agencies continue to investigate in hopes of determining what may have caused a reported family dispute between the two men to end so violently. “We discovered no evidence that clearly pointed to a specific motive and, therefore, we will not speculate,” Carrie Kimball, director of communications for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office, said in an interview this week. Trombetta’s “House of Horrors” There is history between Trombetta and McFeely that dates back more than two decades. Trombetta and his wife, Lorraine, were the subjects of Everett’s infamous “House of Horrors” case after Frank was arrested for a domestic disturbance in January 1999. When police searched the home to investigate the incident, they discovered two girls and three boys shivering in the basement. The residence was also strewn with beer cans, animal feces, rotting food and cockroaches. The state took custody of the children, and McFeely and his wife, Blood and shell casings were on the scene on Friday afternoon. Frank Trombetta, 63, succumbed to his injuries at Massachusetts General Hospital. He had been the center of a 1999 domestic disturbance/child neglect case that drew national media attention. There was a heavy media presence in Cliftondale Square as the gas station remained open for business. Susan, later took the girls and the boys were put in foster care. It was later discovered that the state Department of Social Services (now the Department of Children and Families) took little action despite receiving 13 complaints from school officials and neighbors about the Trombetta home – which was later declared unfit for human habitation. The house had no electricity, and a kerosene heater was used to warm the upstairs rooms. There were no beds, mattresses or toys, and the refrigerator contained only moldy condiments, according to Everett police who went to investigate the disturbance. Lorraine Carli, a Department of Social Services spokesperson, said at the time that the Trombettas had been investigated periodically by the state for over a decade, but there were never any allegations of physical abuse. “It was a family that had a long on-and-off involvement for various kinds of neglect issues, but never ones that rose to the level that we saw on [the day of the domestic disturbance in January 1999],” Carli said. Murders rare in Saugus Cliftondale Square was a frantic scene early last Friday afternoon as police converged on the scene of the shooting where a crowd had already gathered. The crime scene conMURDER | SEE PAGE 18
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