Man convicted of assault faces a new charge: murder

By Jillian Jorgensen, Globe Correspondent

A man serving prison time for felony assault for stabbing a man in Weymouth in 2001 is now facing a new charge in the case -- murder -- because the victim, who was paralyzed, died last year.

Nicholas M. Cirignano, 27, was indicted today by a Norfolk County grand jury, the Norfolk District Attorney's office said.

Prosecutors said that on July 3, 2001, Cirignano stabbed Matthew R. Nagle, who was 22 at the time, in the neck, severing the man’s spinal cord and paralyzing him. In 2005, Cirignano was convicted of assault with intent to kill and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and sentenced by Judge Judith Fabricant to nine to 10 years in prison.

Nagle died July 23, 2007.

Norfolk District Attorney William Keating said in a statement that charging someone with murder when the victim has lived for several years after the attack -- in this case, six years -- is unusual but not unprecedented. He said the injuries inflicted during the assault eventually caused Nagle’s death.

No arraignment date has been set.

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