Double Fatal Stabbing Inside Washington Street Tavern-August 16, 1982

Police Chief George DiBlasi stated that both victims had been repeatedly stabbed sometime after 1 a.m., with their bodies discovered at approximately 6:20 a.m. by John Kotak, a 27-year-old carpenter who cleaned the establishment each morning.

Kotak discovered Gil’s body lying behind the bar and initially believed she was sleeping before turning on the lights to find extensive blood. He subsequently located the body of Frank Doherty, a friend of Gil, in a hallway behind the luncheonette. Police spokesman Joseph Tessicini confirmed that authorities were treating the incident as a double homicide, noting that investigators had not yet determined whether anything was stolen from the property, which had closed at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

Gil, who resided in the apartment above the tavern with her teenage son, John, operated the popular South Norwood establishment alongside her estranged husband, Walenty. Known widely throughout the community, Gil gained local renown for hosting annual holiday dinners at the tavern for underprivileged area residents whom she affectionately called her “boys.” In recent years, she had also been involved in public disputes with town officials regarding a rooming house she operated on nearby Austin Street and past licensing infractions at the bar. The tragic killings marked the second major homicide investigation in the southwest Boston suburbs within a three-week span.

(Reporting by Jack Keough and Mark Zabriskie, The Patriot Ledger).

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger