Man who stabbed another 137 times in New Bedford sentenced to prison
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — A Fairhaven man who killed another at a homeless encampment in New Bedford almost four years ago has been sentenced to prison.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said Tuesday that Matthew Lariviere will serve 12 to 15 years in state prison.
On Aug. 6, 2019, Quinn said New Bedford police went to the area of 105 Nauset St. after a caller claimed there was a dead body in the woods behind that address.
When police arrived, the caller — only identified as a man — told officers that the dead body of Robert Jones, who also went by “Lawrence,” was in the woods near a set of railroad tracks that ran parallel to Nauset Street. That caller, said Quinn, drew police a map of the area.
Police said that section of the woods was being used as a homeless encampment for weeks. The caller, Jones, the caller’s cousin, and “Matt” — later identified as the suspect — lived there.
The man told police that Lariviere confessed to the killing, saying he stabbed Jones after he was accused of stealing the victim’s backpack.
Police said they found Jones’ body hidden under a tarp. He was stabbed 137 times. The knife used and bloody clothes that belonged to the suspect were also found in that area.
Quinn said Lariviere is also awaiting trial for an alleged criminal conduct he participated in during the initial investigation into this homicide. He’s being charged with armed carjacking and armed robbery.
Also on Aug. 6, police responded to a carjacking by knife incident on North Front Street. There, a woman claimed she was putting her baby in his car seat, when Lariviere approached her with a knife and demanded money.
Lariviere allegedly told her to take her child out of the car and then stole it.
Police said they were able to track the car because the owner left her handbag and cell phone inside the vehicle. When they tried to stop the suspect on Belleville Avenue, he kept going.
Quinn said a brief police chase led to the car crashing. The suspect then allegedly ran away but was caught a short time later.
At the time of this arrest, police said they learned that between the armed carjacking and finding the car, there was another armed robbery at a Stop and Save on Ashley Boulevard.
There, the clerk of that store, police said, a man with a knife came up to her. That man matched the description of Lariviere, who was wearing the same clothes during the carjacking incident.
Lariviere allegedly took money from the cash register and left.
