A gruesome murder case in Burlington, Massachusetts, may open the way for online video to serve as evidence in convicting a man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death while a young boy watched from his home computer.

 

Christopher Piantedosi faces a murder trial for killing Kristen Pulisciano in her home. After chasing Pulisciano into their 15-year-old daughter’s bedroom, Piantedosi repeatedly stabbed Pulisciano, an act that was witnessed remotely because the daughter had her iPad’s video chat in operation. This allowed the daughter’s friend to observe the killing as it took place even though the daughter had left the room because of the argument.

 

“This is a very, very difficult case. And it wouldn’t surprise me if we see more of them. In this day and age of video chatting and Skyping, this is the next logical step,” attorney William Korman told the Boston Herald.

 

Korman said it was unclear if the footage of the killing was saved. If not, the prosecution would have to rely on the testimony of the daughter’s friend to tell the court what she witnessed, as opposed to showing the jury firsthand how Pulisciano died.

 

Piantedosi had been released from a mental health treatment facility the day before the murder after attempting suicide on April 29.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Experts Foresee Web of Horror (by Matt Stout and Laurel J. Sweet, Boston Herald)

Burlington Killing Was Caught on iPad, DA Says (by Brian Ballou, Boston Globe)

One of Your Facebook Friends is a Murder Suspect. (by Robert Mills, Lowell Sun)