WORCESTER, Mass. — An emotional day in Worcester as dozens of family members of two women found murdered last month, crowd into Worcester District Court for the suspect’s arraignment.
59-year-old William Rodriguez is now charged and arraigned on two counts of murder for the deaths of Sergia Acosta and Ana Maria Martinez.
The courtroom was packed with family of the victims.
They arrived at the courthouse, still wearing their funeral clothes, directly from the double funeral for Sergia and Ana Maria.
“I hope every single day, you are behind those bars, you remember my aunt’s face, my grandma’s face. Justice will be served,” the victim’s niece Genesis Berrios said. “When you’re evil, that, there’s no way you can feel any remorse.”
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On August 24th Sergia and Ana Maria were found slashed and stabbed to death in a Worcester apartment.
Authorities say witnesses told them Rodriguez was in a dating relationship with Ana Maria, and that the two had been arguing.
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In 2007, William Rodriguez pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 2004 slashing death of his wife, Carmen Rodriguez, at a Worcester hotel where the two worked.
He served 15 years and was released on parole in 2019.
Ana Maria’s family says, she only discovered what happened to Rodriguez’s wife shortly before the double murder.
“They confronted him about it, and my aunt didn’t want anything else to do with him, and I think that’s what drove him to madness,” Berrios said.
For the families of the victims, the day began with a tearful double funeral
And it ended in a courtroom, looking for justice for the man accused of causing all this heartache.
“Everything happens for a reason. And we’re going to show up for our family,” niece Cathi Rodrigues said.
“We just hope that justice is served so that no other family has to go through this, because of this evil person,” Berrios added.
William Rodriguez was ordered held without bail.
He is due back in court for a dangerousness hearing on October 10th.
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