On a tragic evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the life of 63-year-old Patrick Pizzuto was cut short in a violent series of events that also claimed the lives of two of his family members. On December 9, 2011, Cambridge Police responded to a report of gunshots at a home on Grove Street. Inside, they discovered the bodies of Patrick, his 91-year-old mother, Mary A. Pizzuto, and his 52-year-old brother, Robert J. "Bob" Pizzuto. All three had been fatally shot.
Patrick, a resident of Lexington and Hull, was a devoted family man, known to his friends as "Junior" or "June." He was a retired owner of the Waltham Fruit Co. and a consultant for Baldor Foods of Boston. Remembered as an honest and upstanding man, he was a loving husband of 40 years, a beloved father to two daughters, and a doting grandfather. An avid golfer and card player, he was a man who cherished life and was a dedicated son who made the care of his elderly parents a top priority.
The investigation into the triple homicide quickly identified a suspect: John "Jack" Brosnahan, 67, a former Bedford police officer. Brosnahan was related to the Pizzuto family. Later that evening, he was found deceased in Brighton from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities concluded that Brosnahan was the perpetrator of the killings in a tragic murder-suicide, leaving a family and community to mourn the sudden and senseless loss of three of its members. There were no arrests to be made as the sole suspect had taken his own life.
