On a winter's day in Saugus, Massachusetts, the life of Frank A. Trombetta, a 63-year-old Caucasian male, was brought to a violent and tragic end. It was just after noon on Friday, February 7, 2020, at the Mobil gas station on Essex Street where Trombetta worked as a mechanic. He was shot multiple times and rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was ultimately pronounced dead.
The incident that unfolded in the middle of the day was not a random act of violence, but rather the culmination of what appears to be a long-simmering family conflict.
The man responsible for Trombetta's death was quickly identified by authorities as his 63-year-old brother-in-law, William McFeely. After the shooting, McFeely fled the scene in a white Mini Cooper, sparking a search by law enforcement. The pursuit, however, ended in another tragedy. McFeely was later found deceased inside his vehicle at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, having taken his own life. The investigation by State and Saugus Police, along with the Essex County District Attorney's Office, concluded that the event was a murder-suicide.
This violent end was preceded by a troubled history between the two men, rooted in family issues dating back more than two decades. In 1999, Trombetta and his wife had been the focus of a highly publicized child neglect case that earned their home the moniker "The House of Horrors." Their five children were found living in squalid conditions and were subsequently removed from the home. In the aftermath of this, William McFeely and his wife, Susan, who was Trombetta's sister-in-law, took in and cared for three of the children. This history suggests a deeply fractured family dynamic that may have festered for years, leading to the fatal confrontation at the Saugus gas station.
