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Mattapan man, 38, stabbed to death

Police say his wife was questioned; no arrests made

A Mattapan man was stabbed to death on his 38th birthday yesterday, the victim of an apparent domestic dispute, according to the victim's relatives.

The victim was identified as Sylvester Mitchell by his sister Sophia Mitte . Mitte said her brother suffered multiple stab wounds and was found by relatives at 4:36 a.m. yesterday, inside his house at 52 Evans St. Mitchell was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he died.

A police spokeswoman said Mitchell's wife was being questioned but that no arrests had been made.

Early yesterday afternoon, Mitte walked out of the two-story yellow frame house that her brother had recently bought. Police had sealed off the second floor apartment, where Mitchell was found . Mitchell lived on that floor with his wife.

The couple had been married almost four years and Mitchell was stepfather to his wife's five children, Mitte said.

"My brother, he was really hard-working; he did car detailing," she said. "It's just hard to believe he's dead, on his birthday."

Gladys Curry , a 67-year-old grandmother who has lived on Evans Street for almost 30 years in a house across the street from the victim's, said she had never heard any arguments between Mitchell and his wife.

"They were young people and pretty much kept to themselves," she said. 

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