Dorchester woman found stabbed to death

Boyfriend held; four children were in home

A police officer left the crime scene on Washington Street. (Dominic Chavez/Globe Staff)

A 29-year-old Dorchester woman was found stabbed to death in her kitchen yesterday morning, and four young children were removed from the apartment before police arrested her live-in boyfriend, who was charged with murder.

Police identified the victim as Melissa Santiago. Jose Torres, her 26-year-old boyfriend, was taken into custody and charged with Santiago's killing after questioning by police.

Police would not say whether they believed the children, ages 8 months and 2, 4, and 5 years, witnessed the homicide.

"It appears to be a domestic situation," said Officer James Kenneally, a Boston police spokesman.

Police said they went to the apartment on Washington Street yesterday after receiving a 911 call about 11:20 a.m. They found Santiago face down on the kitchen floor with multiple stab wounds. Emergency responders pronounced her dead at the scene a half-hour later.

The four children were also found inside the third-floor apartment, but Deputy Superintendent Earl Perkins would not say in what room. They were unharmed, he said.

Police said Santiago is believed to be the mother of the four children, but it was unclear whether Torres is the father of any of them. Perkins said the family had previous interaction with the Department of Social Services. He would not say last night whether the agency had taken custody of the children. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for the agency were unsuccessful.

Torres is scheduled to be arraigned this morning in Dorchester District Court. Police said Torres was immediately identified as a "person of interest" in the case yesterday and that he was arrested in the afternoon after arriving at the police station for questioning. Police would not say whether he came to the station voluntarily.

One neighbor, who asked to be identified only as Linda, said she did not hear noise but saw several children being taken from the building shortly after police arrived.

"All I know is I came home and there was a whole bunch of drama," said Karen Fernandes, who lives in the building. Fernandes said she had seen a day-care van regularly pick up two children in the mornings from the Santiago's apartment.

"They kept to themselves," said Fernandes's 17-year-old daughter, Paula.

"You're starting to see a lot of stuff happening here," Karen Fernandes said. "You got to be very careful living around here."

If confirmed as a domestic homicide, it would be the seventh such case this year in Massachusetts. There were 42 domestic homicides in the state last year.

"It's devastating news for the family and the community," said Toni Troop, director of communications for Jane Doe Inc., a sexual and domestic violence victims' advocacy organization. "This is a trend that is not acceptable."

Globe correspondent Sarah Gantz contributed to this report.