Berkshire County Sees 3 Murders in One Month
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There have been three murders in Berkshire County this month, as well as shots fired into a residential neighborhood in Pittsfield.
There is no connection between the murders which appeared to have varying motives between family members, work colleagues and complete strangers.
A Sheffield man was arraigned in Great Barrington District Court on Tuesday on murder charges after allegedly revealing a body to another person, a Springfield man was arraigned for murder in Central Berkshire District Court on Monday for allegedly stabbing another man to death over a disagreement in Pittsfield, and in May, a North Adams man was arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court for allegedly killing his father.
District Attorney Timothy Shugrue on Monday described Friday's fatal incident in Pittsfield as "senseless." Zyrus Jaynes, 24, allegedly stabbed 36-year-old Jesse Gray of Pittsfield to death after words were exchanged on Hall Place.
According to police, it was a quick escalating interaction, and that the two hadn't exchanged words or had a physical altercation before. The defendant allegedly told police he thought Gray was going to hit the group he was walking with while pulling into a multifamily residence.
"When you lose somebody to a murder, it's just senseless. In this case, it's extremely senseless. So I think that they're shocked," Shugrue said about the victim's family on Monday, reporting that there were several children on the densely settled, dead-end street who witnessed it.
"…There are multiple children out there that need to see people because they're traumatized by the event of seeing someone pass away in front of their eyes."
The day before, on Sunday, two homes near Memorial Drive and Doyle Drive in Pittsfield were struck by gunfire, and investigators located 17 shell casings on the scene. No injuries were reported.
On Monday, during budget deliberations, the Pittsfield City Council voted against cutting funding for ShotSpotter gunfire detection services. This shooting incident was highlighted during the conversation.
On Tuesday, Cole Bushnell, 41, of Sheffield, was arraigned on the murder of 40-year-old Michael Moore of Winsted, Conn.
A witness told police on Monday that Bushnell had shown him a body under a mattress in a greenhouse on his property. The witness was able to leave the property and immediately drove to a Connecticut State Police station nearby.
Bushnell has been reported as owning the property where the body was found, and he was elected last year to the town's Planning Board.
According to the DA's Office, there were signs of blunt force trauma to Moore's head and a puncture wound in his back.
Last month, David Louis Boucher, 48, walked into the North Adams Police Station to report he had killed his father the week before. Police said it was a "brutal" scene; Shugrue said the victim was stabbed multiple times with different, sharp objects.
The attack is believed to have happened on Tuesday, May 5, based on initial evidence, including the state of the body and statements made by the defendant, according to the DA's Office.
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