A Massachusetts man entered a not guilty plea in the death of a Maine chef.
Declan Perry, 27, of Portland was found dying in a car, wrapped in blankets and duct tape outside South Shore Hospital in Weymouth on Aug. 23.
Christopher Caron, 42, pleaded not guilty to murder on Tuesday in Boston.
Prosecutors said that Caron told investigators Perry came down from Maine. The two bought fentanyl and cocaine together and took the drugs and Perry overdosed.
In court on Tuesday, prosecutors said that’s clearly not how Perry died.
“The medical examiner found he had deep hemorrhaging of his chest, back and the back of his head from blunt force trauma. He had injuries to his eyes, mouth, nose and face also from blunt force trauma. He had injuries and hemorrhaging to his necks — to his neck, larynx and esophagus, hemorrhaging around his hyoid bone and the medical examiner said all of these injuries to his neck were due to strangulation. All of these injuries, according to the medical examiner, occurred prior to death,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said.
Investigators said this is a clear case of murder and Caron’s story doesn’t add up.
“We have the burden of proof. We understand that. That’s why what we do on a daily basis is we go slow and steady. That’s how you come to a correct resolution in these matters and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Cruz said.
Multiple neighbors said they witnessed Caron putting something in a car.
The district attorney said that Caron told one person it was a hockey goalie mannequin.
Perry’s father told WBZ that his son was a chef in Portland and that he was a family guy who had a “ton of friends.”
