Closing Arguments in Piantedosi Trial Begin Today

Closing arguments in the trial of Christopher Piantedosi, the suspect in last year's stabbing murder in Burlington, are scheduled to begin Monday in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, according to a release from the Middlesex District Attorney's office. 

The closing arguments are set to begin at 9 a.m. in courtroom 430. 

On May 3, 2012, Burlington Police responded to 23 Forbes Avenue for a report of a stabbing. Upon arrival, officers located a female victim, evidencing obvious fatal stab wounds.  The victim, Kristen Pulisciano, 38, a resident of 23 Forbes Avenue, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Burlington Police and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the stabbing. It is alleged that Christopher Piantedosi, who had had a long-standing relationship with the victim, stabbed the victim inside her residence and then fled, the release states. 

An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (ME) determined the cause of death to be sharp force injuries to the head and chest and the manner of death homicide.

An arrest warrant for murder was issued the morning of May 4, 2012 for Piantedosi.  Piantedosi later turned himself into authorities at the Massachusetts State Police Barracks in Weston, the release states. 

According to the Herald, Defense attorney Michael Collora said he is “not going to dispute the evidence" but suggested his client did not have the "mental capacity and intent" to commit the crime.   

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