A Massachusetts man killed his live-in girlfriend and then went to a restaurant where his parents were having a function to attack them, the Norfolk District Attorney said in a press conference. The horror unfolded on the night of February 10. Cops were called to the Primavera family restaurant in Millis at around 10 p.m. after two patrons had reportedly been stabbed. Both injuries are considered serious. At the eatery, cops took Benjamin Walsh, 24, into custody after he had been subdued by other family members. DA Michael Morrissey, “They had him pretty well tied up.” He is the son of the man and woman who were stabbed.
Morrissey said that he didn’t know if Walsh had been invited to the party. The restaurant wrote on their Facebook page on February 11, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families affected.” The family are thought to have been at the restaurant for a birthday celebration. Walsh’s parents are Laura and Mike Walsh of Millis, Massachusetts. His girlfriend was later found stabbed to death at the home she shared with Walsh. She has been named as Olivia Bergstrom.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Walsh’s Brother Told Cops as the Restaurant to Check on the Suspect’s Girlfriend
Screengrab via NBC BostonThe home where Benjamin Walsh’s girlfriend was found dead.
Walsh’s mother’s injuries are considered more serious. Mass Live had earlier reported that his father had been brought to a local hospital to treatment while his mother was taken to a Boston-area medical facility. The Boston Globe reports that Mike Walsh was released from a hospital on February 11.
Needham landlord tells #Boston25 20-year-old woman found stabbed to death in multi-family home was student at Wentworth: “She was one of the nicest people you could possibly have.”
That arrest led cops to a third floor apartment in Needham at 64 Marshall Street where investigators found the dead body of Walsh’s girlfriend, 20. Officers were asked to go there by Walsh’s younger brother. NBC Boston reported that on the morning of February 11, cops were still at the home collecting evidence. Speaking to the Boston Globe, a neighbor, Valerie von Rosenvinge, said, “I just went outside and spoke to one of the officers, and he said it was an active crime scene. Whatever happened, it was terrible.” She added that there a lot of people lived in the building over the years. Morrissey said in his press conference, “We have recovered a knife that is of interest to us and that’s all we’ll say.”
2. Walsh Had Lived With Olivia Bergstrom Since August 2017
Facebook/Ben Walsh
Speaking to the Boston Globe, Mike Walsh defended his son, “I know when Ben realized what he did last night he would be devastated. During the incident, Mike Walsh said he tried to wrestle the knife from his son while other family members apprehended the 24-year-old. Mike added that he learned of his son’s girlfriend’s death while in the emergency room, calling her “the sweetest kid.” He also said, “We are devastated most of all for [his son’s girlfriend] and her family. I can’t imagine their pain.” Walsh had been dating Olivia Bergstrom since December 2015.
Instagram/Olivia Bergstrom
In the caption for the above August 2017 photo, Olivia Bergstrom wrote, “Here’s to signing on our new apartment. Can’t wait to spend many more sunsets with you.”
On her Instagram page, Bergstrom writes, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Bergstrom was a graduate of Holliston High School and at the time of her death was studying interior design at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. Bergstrom was a supervisor at a Cocobeet store.
3. Walsh Formerly Worked for Boston Red Sox Owner John Henry
Facebook/Ben Walsh
On his Instagram page, Walsh writes in the bio, “Hardcore kid. We are already dead. Waging a war on egotism through the promotion of existential aesthetics and boundless love.” In his about section, Walsh says he lives on Marshall Street, where his girlfriend was found dead.
Facebook/Ben Walsh
Walsh attended Massachusetts Bay Community College from 2012 until 2014. In 2014, he began working at the home of Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C. owner John Henry’s home in Brookline, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe reported in 2013 that Henry had bought former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s estate with the intention of razing it to create an entirely new home.
4. Mike Walsh in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Facebook/Laura Walsh
Mike Walsh is in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to his Facebook page and studied at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Massachusetts, and Medway High School in Medway. Mike Walsh says he and Laura Walsh married in 1987. Many of Mike Walsh’s Facebook posts are about his Christianity. In December 2016, Mike Walsh created a Go Fund Me page to help support his sister who lost her husband in a house fire in Bellingham.
Facebook/Mike Walsh
According to her Facebook page, Laura Walsh attended high school in Rhode Island and Medway High School along with her husband. The couple has three children, Benjamin, Brian and Nicole.
5. Officials Were Adamant From the Start that the Attack Had Nothing to With a Fatal Hit-and-Run in the Area
The Superintendent of Needham Schools mourns the loss of one of their own. Junior Talia Newfield died last night after being struck by a car, near the high school. A classmate, walking beside her, was also injured. Grief counselors will be available at the school today. @wbz
The hit-and-run death of Talia Newfield, 16, in Needham around the same time is not considered to be connected to the Walsh arrest. At the time of writing, nobody has been charged in the death of Newfield. A friend, Adrienne Garrido, who was walking with her was also injured during the crash.
