Lal Kishor Mahaseth, a 54-year-old male, was working as the owner and operator of the Stop N Save convenience store on Rock Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, on the night of October 18, 2021. Friends and family described him as a kind and humble man, a great husband and father who was working to support his family. He leaves behind a wife, two sons, and a daughter.
That evening, a customer entered the store at approximately 10:30 p.m.
to buy food and discovered Mahaseth lying on the floor behind the counter with a gunshot wound to his chest. Multiple 911 calls were made, and upon arrival, police found the store clerk bleeding. He was transported to Charlton Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The investigation into the homicide was described as extremely active, with police seeking a male suspect.
Authorities later arrested Nelson F. Coelho, a 37-year-old Fall River man, in connection with the murder. Investigators found him hiding in a closet in an apartment where he was reportedly squatting. Coelho was charged with murder, attempted armed and masked robbery, and carrying an illegal firearm. Evidence presented during his trial showed that he had laid in wait before entering the Stop N Save armed with a handgun. Surveillance footage, though silent, depicted the events leading up to the shooting, showing the perpetrator walking outside the store, brandishing a gun, and going behind the counter. The video also showed Mahaseth attempting to defend himself by throwing a chair over the counter before being shot once in the chest.
Coelho was also connected to the armed robbery of another convenience store, the 7Days Food Mart, which occurred the night before the murder. Prosecutors stated that he used the money from that robbery to buy crack cocaine. In May 2024, following a five-day trial, a jury convicted Nelson Coelho of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and carrying an illegal firearm. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional eight to ten years for the armed robbery conviction.
