Maria A. Gil, a prominent local figure and two-time candidate for selectman, and a male companion were found stabbed to death inside Dundulis Lunch located at 1118 Washington Street.
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
More Norwood Crime Stories
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“I Didn’t Kill Her,” Says Peter-This Day in Norwood History-March 15, 1955
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Peter Makarewicz Denies Confession-“I Didn’t Kill Her,” He Says-This Day in Norwood History-March 15, 1955
DEDHAM, March 15—Peter Makarewicz took the stand today in his own defense on the eighth day of his first-degree murder trial. The slim, pale 16-year-old hoy, under questioning by his attorney, Louis Goldstein, gave the court an hour-by-hour account of his activities on Nov. 4, the day on which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts says he…
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Parents, Brother Ready to Take Stand for Peter Makarewicz-This Day in Norwood History-March 14, 1955
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Dungaree Clue Found In Washer, Says Detective-March 11, 1955
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Jury Hears ‘Confession’ of Strangling Girl, 15-This Day in Norwood History-March 11, 1955
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Scar on Peters Face Brought Quiz, Jury Told-This Day in Norwood History-March 10, 1955
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Peter Makarewicz Refused to Take Lie Test, Says Officer-This Day in Norwood History-March 10, 1955
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Makarewicz Refused Lie Detector Test, Jury Told-This Day in Norwood History-March 10, 1955
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Prosecutor Claims Peter Plotted Murder-This Day in Norwood History-March 9, 1955
Peter Makarewicz, 15, of Norwood, deliberately plotted the murder of Geraldine Annese, the prosecution charged in its opening to a Superior Court jury here this afternoon. “He (Peter) planned this while lying beside his baby sister while she went to sleep sometime between 9 and 9:30 that night.” (the night of the slaying), Dist Atty.…
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