‘Heartbreaking’: Plymouth man charged with father’s murder after manhunt across South Shore

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The son of a man who was found fatally stabbed inside a home in Plymouth on Thursday morning is facing murder charges.

Matthew Paluzzi, 26, was detained in the area of 198 Columbia Road in Hanover shortly before 11 a.m. after a manhunt that spanned multiple South Shore communities, according to Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz. Thursday afternoon the Plymouth County DA updated that Paluzzi had formally been charged with the murder of his father, 76-year-old Anthony Paluzzi.

Massachusetts State Police shared Air Wing video tracking Paluzzi’s vehicle before he was finally stopped and swarmed by authorities in Hanover.

“The vehicle is stopped stand by for more,” can be heard from the police radio transmission on the video.

That was right in front of Capeway Auto Service.

“All of a sudden I saw like 10-12 police cars State Police, Hanover Police all kinds and they surrounded this car,” said Gene Haen, the owner of Capeway Auto Service.

Paluzzi was taken out of this Nissan Murano and handcuffed in the middle of the road.

“But then I saw them approaching this car and they pulled the guy out of there and come to find out they’ve been chasing him since Manomet,” said Haen.

Airwing video of Matthew Paluzzi being taken into custody

Officers responded to a home at 15 Cedar Street in the seaside village of Manomet around 6:30 a.m. after they received a 911 call from a woman who reported that she had found her husband unresponsive and bleeding from a laceration to the neck, according to Cruz.

Cruz noted that a large kitchen knife was found at the scene.

Anthony Paluzzi was pronounced dead in the home. Cruz said a preliminary investigation indicated that he died from a stab wound to the neck.

Lisa Caola has lived across the street from the Paluzzi family for around 20 years. She said Matthew, the youngest of four boys, used to play with her children.

“He was a nice little kid,” she said. “When he got out of high school he worked at Benny’s (a supermarket) and then after that it seemed, you know, bad choices.”

Caola, an early riser, was out on her porch at four in the morning when she noticed something odd at the Paluzzi house.

“Their lights were on in the garage, which is very unusual because no one is up as early as I am,” she said. “It didn’t seem right, but I didn’t hear anything.”

Until a few hours later, that is, when numerous police vehicles showed up in the neighborhood.

“After a while I came out and asked the police officers, because they were in my driveway, and I said, is Tony okay. And he said no,” Caola said. “And I said, did... well, I’d rather not say.”

Caola said she suspected immediately that Matthew might somehow be involved. He had recently moved back in with his parents, she said.

“As he got older, Matthew was making some bad choices,” Caola said. “They were wonderful parents, did everything. It’s just really sad. Heartbreaking.”

Cedar Street is located just minutes away from White Horse Beach.

Video from the scene showed several detectives gathered outside the home and the neighborhood blocked off by Plymouth police officers.

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As a result of the deadly stabbing, Plymouth police announced in a community alert that they were searching for Matthew Paluzzi in connection with the apparent homicide, warning the public not to approach him because he was believed to be armed.

Cruz said that the incident doesn’t appear to be a random act of violence and there is no threat to the public.

An investigation is ongoing.

Paluzzi is expected to be arraigned in Plymouth District Court on Friday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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