JOHN RUCH
EGLESTON SQ.—A resident of the 125 Amory Street housing development has been charged with shooting his neighbor to death with a rifle on Sept. 5.
The victim, Elvia McField, 56, was found at around 11:30 p.m. bleeding near the building’s fourth-floor elevators. Charles Cherry, 66, is being held without bail on a charge of murder. Police allegedly found a rifle in Cherry’s apartment and blood on his door jamb.
It is the second time in three years that the Amory Street building has been the scene of a shooting death. In 2005, resident Charles Wilson was murdered in his apartment by his girlfriend’s nephew, who is now serving a life sentence.
The 2005 killing sparked resident concerns about safety in the building, which is operated by the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) as housing for seniors and people with disabilities. BHA spokesperson Lyda Agro was not immediately available for comment about McField’s killing.
Police and prosecutors identified the scene of McField’s killing as 127 Amory, which is part of the complex.
Boston and BHA police recovered a variety of evidence, including a spent shell casing, part of a bullet and video surveillance footage, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
“We will not rest until we speak for Ms. McField in a court of law and bring her killer to justice,” said Suffolk County DA Daniel Conley in a press statement. Cherry is set to return to Roxbury District Court on Oct. 30.
McField’s killing is the sixth reported homicide in the Jamaica Plain area this year. The other cases include: a body dumped in Franklin Park; a stabbing in a Gartland Street group home; an Egleston Square car-pedestrian accident; and shootings on the Southwest Corridor and in the Academy Homes housing development.