Norwood Hospital Released Man Later Accused of Murder-This Day In Norwood History-July 3, 1992

Niro acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating, “None of us like to know someone under our care committed a crime,” yet he maintained that “mental health is not an exact science. If it were, people wouldn’t ever commit suicide or harm other people.“

Stivaletta, 28, had arrived at the hospital on December 27, 1991, reporting that he heard voices instructing him to commit violent acts. He was confined to the second-floor locked psychiatric unit until January 4, 1992, at which time his medical team deemed him stable enough to be discharged. Upon his release, Stivaletta reportedly hitchhiked from the hospital to his 83-year-old grandmother Grace Liddel’s apartment in Millis. That same afternoon, he surrendered to Medfield police, confessing to killing Liddel by stabbing her 22 times with a 10-inch knife. Following the incident, Stivaletta was moved to Bridgewater State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

During his briefing, Niro defended the clinical autonomy of the staff, emphasizing that they rely on professional observations rather than absolute certainty. He addressed broader community anxieties that the hospital might be mishandling psychiatric care or attracting patients who pose an inherent threat to the public. “No patient has ever left (the locked psychiatric) unit without proper authorization,” Niro asserted. “There is no circumstance that we had a pink slip (or a committal order) on someone and they left.“

However, official Norwood police records contradicted this sentiment, documenting that at least 11 psychiatric patients had walked away from the facility since 1990 while seeking care. In several instances, these individuals had been issued “pink slips”—committal orders granting the hospital legal authority to restrain a patient—yet had still managed to exit the premises. One patient notably escaped from the locked unit, hailed a taxicab, and returned to their residence in Sharon.

The investigation into Norwood Hospital’s emergency room security revealed multiple instances where vulnerable individuals were left unattended. In one case, a suicidal man from Kingston walked out of the emergency room into the night. In another, a Norwood woman described as “self-mutilating” similarly bypassed hospital oversight. Niro clarified the legal constraints governing these departures, noting that patients cannot be held without a physician, judge, or police officer formally documenting that they pose a threat to themselves or others. He explained, “There is a lag time between when someone presents themselves and when that determination can be made. If they leave, they are free to do so.“

As the State Department of Mental Health concluded its seven-month investigation into the hospital’s management of the Stivaletta case, the community awaited the release of formal findings. Family members of Stivaletta continued to assert that he had been a known, dangerous threat who should have remained under medical supervision.

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