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Life sentence for 2021 murder of Erica Lara at Hotel Vernon

  • Posted by Worcester News 4 hours ago - Filed in News - #Worcester  #Kelley Square  #Worcester Superior Court  #Worcester Police Department  #Worcester County District Attorney  #murder  #Erica Lara  #Kyle Curley  #Joseph Early Jr.  #Hotel Vernon  - 942 views


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    WORCESTER — A 35-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the 2021 killing of 29-year-old Erica Lara and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. announced Tuesday.

    Kyle Curley also pleaded guilty to assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 2 to 3 years in state prison on that charge. The sentence will be served concurrently with his life sentence.

    Lara's body was found June 29th, 2021, inside the Hotel Vernon at 16 Kelley Square after her family reported her missing, according to prosecutors. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that she died from complications of blunt-force injuries to the head.

    In the days surrounding the discovery of Lara's body, her family turned to social media seeking information about her whereabouts and Curley.

    In a June 29th, 2021, post on Facebook, Lara's sister, Jessi Lynn Billington, initially wrote that Lara had not been seen or heard from since the previous Tuesday. She said Lara had been staying at an apartment and had been taken to a hospital after suffering a broken nose.

    Billington alleged in the post that Curley had been beating Lara and said she believed he was responsible for her disappearance. She identified Curley as being from Warwick, Rhode Island, and said he had ties to Woonsocket and Providence and frequented Worcester's Webster Square area. Those statements were allegations made by Lara's sister at the time and were not findings by law enforcement.

    The post was later updated after Lara's body was found, with Billington asking the public to continue sharing information in an effort to locate Curley.

    On July 3rd, 2021, Billington posted again to say Curley had been taken into police custody, thanking people who had shared information and assisted the family.

    According to the district attorney's office, investigators obtained a warrant for Curley's arrest. He was arrested by San Diego police in California in July 2021 after contacting the Worcester Police Department Detective Bureau to turn himself in on unrelated warrants.

    A Worcester County grand jury indicted Curley on March 24th, 2023.

    “We never stop working towards justice for victims and their families, especially in cases that remain unresolved,” Early said in a statement.

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