A 15-year-old Tewksbury boy has died after allegedly having his head slammed against a concrete floor by an older teen at Halloween party on Friday, October 28th, 2016 in Lowell, Massachusetts.
According to prosecutors, the victim, since identified as 15-year-old Ethan Costello, had been drinking at the party when he bumped into 18-year-old Joseph Zagarella. Witnesses say Zagarella then proceeded to pick Costello up by the neck in a fit of anger and slam him into the ground, causing him to suffer severe head trauma. Though Costello’s friends carried him into the house on the property where the party was held, the homeowner allegedly told them to “Get that kid out of here,” as he did not want to deal with drunk kids. Costello was eventually driven to a local hospital, though he did not survive.
After allegedly lying to police several times, Zagarella eventually admitted his actions and was arrested. Zagarella was held on $10,000 bail after pleading not guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, with an order to remain under 24-hour house arrest with a GPS monitoring device should he post bail. Prosecutors say Zagarella’s charges may be upgraded pending the outcome of the victim’s autopsy report.
Zagarella’s defense claims that there are conflicting accounts regarding what happened, with some witnesses saying that the victim fell and hit his head. “There was no one being thrown to the ground,” Zagarella’s attorney said. “There was a push. The victim in this case fell to the floor and it seems that he hit his head.” Zagarella’s next court date is December 2nd for a pretrial conference.
For more information on this story, head over to CBS Boston or Lowell Sun.
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