Brutal slayings shock Boston

Brutal slayings shock Boston

By Laurel J. Sweet, Edward Mason and O’Ryan Johnson | Wednesday, September 29, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

Photo by Mark Garfinkel

Boston’s grisliest mass murder in nearly two decades - made all the more horrific by the senseless execution of a baby in his young mother’s final embrace - sent horror rippling yesterday throughout the city, from the most powerful seats of government to the child’s devastated family.
“You don’t see this in Boston or really throughout the country for that matter,” said District Attorney Daniel Conley after the early morning massacre in Mattapan that left four bodies - some naked - and one man clinging to life last night. “A small child was not doing anything. As a parent, as a citizen of the city, it breaks your heart. It’s very troubling to see what man can do to man.”
Investigators yesterday were probing whether the savage crime was drug-related.
The slain woman, who died cradling her fatally wounded baby boy, was Eyanna Louise Flonory, 21, of Dorchester, a criminal law student at Bunker Hill Community College, according to her mother, Delorise Flonory, 67, of Brockton.
Her murdered grandson, 2-year-old Amani Smith, “was everything” to Eyanna, she said.
Delorise Flonory said she last spoke to her daughter about an hour before she died.
“She said she was in bed,” she said.
A grief-stricken woman who identified herself as the toddler’s aunt said “the entire family is devastated.”
Speaking outside the Morning Star Baptist Church, blocks from the murder scene, Avis Springette recalled the baby as “fun-loving with a busy personality,” adding, “I lost my nephew and I just want to know what happened.”
Springette said she’s related to the baby’s father, who was not among the victims last night.
The mass murder unfolded at about 1 a.m., said Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, when the department’s shot spotter detected gunshots at 40 Woolson Ave. Two men and one woman were pronounced dead at the scene, while a toddler was rushed to the hospital and died shortly thereafter, Davis said. A fifth victim is not expected to survive, he said.
Speaking outside Morning Star Baptist Church last night, Davis said police had positively identified four of the five victims and were “about to make a positive ID on the fifth.”
He added: “we’ve made real progress.”
Gov. Deval Patrick said the FBI is assisting in the manhunt.
“In order to deal with this horrible thing you’re going to have to help,” the governor told an emotional crowd at the church. “If you know something, come forward.”
Authorities were looking for a gray or silver Ford Explorer seen fleeing the intersection of Woolson and Wildwood streets.
The lone survivor of the massacre told authorities the executions erupted from a pot sale gone bad, a source said. Law enforcement officials could not confirm a motive yesterday.
A source and relatives said the gravely wounded victim was Marcus Anthony Hurd, 32, a Dorchester man who according to court papers is currently facing domestic assault and battery charges.
Last night, Hurd’s heartbroken 25-year-old sister told the Herald she was stunned.
“I don’t understand why someone would do that to my brother. This is too much,” the sister said, wiping away tears. “I just want to know why someone would do this.”

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