Massachusetts man convicted of beating mother to death with fireplace log

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man accused of using a fireplace log to beat his 72-year-old mother to death has been convicted of first-degree murder.

Danny Lopes Jr. 39, was convicted by a Plymouth Superior Court jury on Tuesday of killing Julia Fernandes in August 2017 in the West Bridgewater home they shared, according to a statement from the office of Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole at sentencing scheduled for March 1.

Police went to the home on the evening of August 27, 2017, after getting a call from one of Lopes’ relatives. There they found the victim in a second-floor bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy determined that she died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Lopes was not at the scene but was arrested the next day in North Providence, Rhode Island.

The log that authorities say was used to beat Fernandes was found in the home’s basement, authorities said.

Fernandes was also found guilty of intimidation of a witness “for sending a threatening letter from the Plymouth County Correctional Facility to a witness who testified before Grand Jury,” prosecutors said.