Drama of guns, rage, and death in Abington
Man held in wife's slaying; police thwart retaliation
ABINGTON - It was shortly after 10 p.m. in this small suburban town when Frank Scolaro heard multiple gunshots outside his home on a short side street.
He grabbed his pistol and went outside to find his sister and neighbor, Barbara Jean Tassinari, lying in the driveway, shot multiple times in the head and body. He saw his brother-in-law, John Tassinari, standing nearby.
Scolaro aimed his palm-sized .32 caliber at the back of Tassinari's head.
"I'm gonna kill you," Scolaro shouted at his brother-in-law, according to a State Police report. "You killed my sister. You shot my sister."
Just then, police arrived at the scene, alerted by neighbors who flooded the 911 lines Tuesday night after the shots rang out. The officers disarmed Scolaro at gunpoint and arrested Tassinari, who moments earlier had called police with a chilling admission.
"My wife has been cheating on me, and I just shot her dead. Please come arrest me. . . . I'm sorry," Tassinari, 29, told a 911 dispatcher Tuesday night, according to the police report filed in Brockton District Court. The report quoted him as saying he "shot her more than 12 times" and promised to wait for them patiently and unarmed at the end of his driveway.
The slaying on Pilgrim Street, a quiet little side stretch with a mixture of old and new modest one-family houses, rattled this town about 20 miles south of Boston, where the last killing happened nearly seven years ago. The Tassinaris' split-entry house, pale gray with blue shutters, was cordoned off with police tape yesterday.
Plymouth County prosecutors say Tassinari killed his wife, a 29-year-old stay-at-home mother, using two high-powered .45-caliber handguns. Her death is the 10th alleged case of domestic homicide in Massachusetts this year, according to Jane Doe Inc., an advocacy group whose representatives were at the State House yesterday urging more funding for victims of domestic violence.
During a brief arraignment in Brockton District Court yesterday, Tassinari pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and was ordered held without bail.
In the aftermath of Barbara Tassinari's killing, a complex portrait emerged of her husband, who as a college student excelled in science and once attended the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Stockholm after winning a prestigious science award. According to his page on myspace.com, he was also a gun enthusiast and firearms safety instructor who loved "cars, guns, motorcycles, vodka, and A/V equipment."
On the site, he credited his wife with keeping him grounded and described himself as a proud father. The two had a 1-year-old son, Frank, who was at home at the time of the shooting, and were also raising Barbara's 10-year-old son from a previous relationship. It is unclear where he was at the time of the shooting.
"As a Virgo, I get too wrapped up in the small details of life, and Barbara helps me step back and enjoy life," he wrote.
When police arrived at the Tassinari home Tuesday, they recovered what they described as two .45-caliber Glock pistols near Barbara Tassinari's body. At least 12 spent shell casings and possibly as many as 20 were found in piles near the weapons, police said.
Scolaro was not arrested by police but taken into protective custody. Abington Police Chief David Majenski said Scolaro's interaction with Tassinari is one of several aspects of the killing that remain under investigation.
Neighbors said the couple largely kept to themselves after moving into the split-entry house about a year ago. "I think everybody in the neighborhood will be shocked that this happened," said Mary Wehr, who lives a few doors away. "They seemed like very quiet people."
John Tassinari's mother lived across the street from her son's family, according to neighbors and police, and rushed outside when police arrived in the neighborhood.
His relatives could not be reached for comment.
Scolaro and his wife, Robin, later told police of recent signs of trouble in the Tassinari home. John Tassinari had spent time at his brother's house in New York State within the past week "after having difficulties at his house," Scolaro said.
Earlier Tuesday night, Robin Scolaro told police, Barbara Tassinari had visited for tea and told her that John Tassinari was drinking and had accused her of having an affair. After 15 minutes, Tassinari called his wife on her cellphone and demanded that she return home. "Fifteen minutes later she [Robin S] was upstairs in her home with her husband when she heard multiple gunshots," police said in the report.
Frank Scolaro also told police that "his sister was always home and did not have affairs that he was aware of," according to the report. "He has never heard or seen of any domestic disturbances . . . but John seemed very controlling with Barbara over finances."
Majenski, the police chief, said his department had not previously responded to the Pilgrim Street address to investigate domestic abuse complaints.
Tassinari, who apparently works at his family-owned firm, once had a day at Braintree High School set aside for him to celebrate his repeated success in science contests, including winning the International Science and Engineering Fair as a high school senior.
As a freshman at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he won a science award that included a trip to Stockholm to attend the Nobel Prize award ceremonies, according to a school press release.
His lawyer, William F. Sullivan of Quincy, told the judge that Tassinari had no prior criminal record.
He did not challenge a request from Assistant Plymouth District Attorney Shelby Smith that Tassinari be held without bail.
Outside the courtroom, Sullivan called the killing a "horrific tragedy" and declined to comment in detail about the allegations against Tassinari.
"I think there are lot of background facts, evidence that will come out, but I just don't think today is the day" to talk about it, Sullivan said.
About a half dozen of Barbara Tassinari's relatives were in the courtroom during the arraignment. They declined comment afterward and returned to Pilgrim Street to mourn their loss.
John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. 