Crime & Safety

Father, Son Charged in Connection with Somerville Man's Murder

The suspects lived with the victim in a Somerville apartment.

A father and son have been arrested in connection with the murder of the Somerville man whose body was found behind Norwood’s Coakley Middle School on Jan. 29.

Authorities believe the father, 52-year-old Anthony Canejo Sr., killed Vincent Lalli, 66, in Somerville, dismembered his body and then dropped it behind the school.

Canejo Sr. allegedly assaulted Lalli with a crowbar and strangled him in their Somerville apartment, according to a Friday release from the Middlesex District’s Attorney’s Office.

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Canejo Sr.’s son, Anthony Canejo Jr., helped his father dispose of the body, according to authorities.

Canejo Jr. also lived in the apartment, authorities said.

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Canejo Sr. was arraigned Friday in Somerville District Court on charges of armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Judge Antoinette Leoney ordered him held without bail, pending a Feb. 21 dangerousness hearing.

Canejo Jr. was also arraigned Friday in Somerville and was charged with being an accessory after an armed assault with intent to murder and accessory after an assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Leoney ordered him held on $250,000 cash bail. He also was held without bail on a probation violation. His next court date is March 28 for a pretrial hearing.

Canejo Sr. was arrested Thursday in Quincy, Canejo Jr. Friday morning in Watertown.

The investigation is ongoing, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.


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