A man from Massachusetts is facing charges after allegedly stabbing his mother’s boyfriend 17 times and pouring lighter fluid on him following a dispute about steaks during a Saturday night dinner.
Andrew Horsman, aged 41, reportedly lost control during the confrontation over steaks with his mother’s long-term partner, 66-year-old Paul Pomerleau, resulting in a violent outbreak at Pomerleau’s residence, according to investigators.
Horsman approached Pomerleau and allegedly inflicted an alarming 17 stab wounds, as described by prosecutor Nicole Piacentini Lawson during Horsman’s arraignment on Monday.
After Pomerleau collapsed, Horsman poured a gallon of lighter fluid on his prone body, police said. But he failed to set Pomerleau on fire, as another relative intervened.
The accused stabber fled the scene but was arrested soon after near the residence and charged with murder, according to the Middleborough Police Department.
Pomerleau was rushed to a nearby hospital but died within the hour.
Horsman was living at the home with his mother and Pomerleau, according to Lawson.
The men had prior beef before the deadly stabbing.
Pomerleau was reportedly critical of his girlfriend’s son for being unemployed and still living with his mother at his age, witnesses said.
Joshua Wood, Horsman’s attorney, claims his client’s violent response was the culmination of years of unaddressed domestic violence.
“These people knew each other. There was a long relationship here and I think that’s important, and the history wasn’t always peaceful. I think when the story fully comes out, it’ll be clear that this wasn’t a random act of violence, as the Commonwealth suggested, but frankly a response to years of suffering,” Wood said.
Exactly what about steaks the two men were fighting over hasn’t been revealed by investigators.
It’ is’s also unclear how long Pomerleau was dating Horsman’s mother. Pomerleau basically “raised [Horsman],” the victim’s twin brother Peter said.
Neighbors near the grisly murder struggled to wrap their heads around Horsman being so violent.
“I’ve known him for 30 years. And I’ll tell you, he was like a gentle giant. He was a great guy. He’d give you the shirt off his back. You know, he really would,” neighbor Jeff Burr told WBZ-TV.
Horsman pleaded not guilty to murder during his arraignment.
He is being held without bail. He is due back in court on July 28.
