Prosecutor describes vicious attacks in Framingham slayings

October 17, 2008 04:50 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Brian Ballou, Globe Staff

Jeremias Bins' longstanding jealousy of his wife's devotion to her Mormon faith boiled over two years ago in their Framingham bedroom when he grabbed a hammer out of his toolbox and struck her in the head at least six times. And when his 11-year-old stepson rushed in, Bins turned on him, a prosecutor alleged today.

"He did it with such atrocity and cruelty,'' Lee Hettinger, Middlesex County assistant district attorney, said in his opening statement in Bins' double murder trial. Carla Souza called 911 in the moments before the attack, and was likely on the phone with a dispatcher when the alleged assault occurred, Hettinger said.

In graphic detail that caused tears and gasps from people in the courtroom, the prosecutor described the crime scene. Carla Souza was lying on the floor with a pool of blood around her head, and her son Caique was nearby, also lying on the floor. Blood poured from his head onto the floor.

Both victims, their skulls crushed and brains lacerated, were still alive, Hettinger told the jury. Caique would die almost an hour later at Metrowest Medical Center. Carla would cling to life for almost three hours before she was declared dead at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Bins was not inside the apartment on Gordon Street when police arrived, Hettinger said, but had walked to the downtown area with his infant son, swathed in a blanket. From there, Bins took a taxi to the police station and after walking in, declared " 'I'm sorry,' '' Hettinger said.

Hettinger told the jury that Carla Souza's last words, during the 911 call, were "can you come to my house please, I'm having a problem with my husband.'' He also said there is DNA evidence linking Bins to the crime scene. Hettinger also hinted to the jury that an interview, partially taped, of Bins at the police station may contain what amounts to a confession.

But defense attorney Earl Howard reminded the jury to reserve their judgement until they have heard all the facts of the case. Bins has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.

"You've heard some things that may cause passions to explode,'' Howard told the jury in his opening statement.