One of three men who face triple-murder charges in Massachusetts was convicted a decade ago in a Maine case that included blood-letting and overtones of vampirism.
Back then he was Roy Gutfinski Jr. of Augusta. Today, after a legal name change in July 2008 while he was a Maine State Prison inmate, his name is Caius Domitius Veiovis.
Additional Photos
Veiovis, 31, pleaded not guilty in Pittsfield, Mass., on Monday to three counts each of murder, kidnapping and intimidation of witnesses, according to a court clerk. He is being held without bail and is to return to court Oct. 12.
James Reardon Jr., the court-appointed attorney for Veiovis, was unavailable Tuesday. In news accounts published in Massachusetts, Reardon said he had received little information about the slayings or Veiovis’ alleged participation.
Veiovis and two other men – Adam Lee Hall, 34, allegedly a sergeant-at-arms of the local Hells Angels chapter, and David Chalue, 44 – are charged with killing David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell on or about Aug. 28.
Berkshire County District Attorney David Capeless’ office issued a statement this week announcing that investigators had found the remains of three men who had been missing for two weeks, and had charged three suspects. He said officials are still investigating the association among all of the men.
The penalty in Massachusetts for first-degree murder is life in prison without parole.
Veiovis served almost 7½ years of a 10-year sentence in Maine on convictions in 2000 for elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault and reckless conduct.
He was 19 and still known as Gutfinski when he and his girlfriend sliced open the back of a 16-year-old girl, then licked the blood while they kissed.
The cutting was done by Gutfinski’s girlfriend, who was 16, police said. The razor cut along the victim’s back required 32 stitches to close, according to court documents.
At Gutfinski’s trial in 2000, prosecutor Alan Kelley portrayed him as part of a subculture of people who wore dark clothes and practiced self-mutilation and some blood-licking or blood-drinking.
“Roy Gutfinski Jr. perceived himself (as) and claimed to be a Satanic worshipper, claimed to police he was a vampire and drank blood, his own as well as other persons’, as often as possible,” Kelley said in the courtroom.
Kelley and witnesses described Gutfinski’s apartment on Water Street as dark and dungeonlike with darkened windows, bones scattered about, pictures of bodies on the walls and razor blades throughout the apartment.
When police searched the apartment, they found a library book on human anatomy under a fish tank that held a snake, and an ax near a wooden chair.
Kelley said the cutting victim met Gutfinski and his girlfriend downtown two days before the incident. Neither Gutfinski’s girlfriend nor the victim wanted Gutfinski prosecuted, and he did not testify in his own defense.
After his conviction, and before his sentencing, Gutfinski took a razor to his own arms while in jail. It took 200 stitches to close the wounds.
Court records show he has had a series of mental evaluations over the years.
For the cutting incident, Gutfinski was sentenced on July 3, 2000, to 10 years in prison with all but three years suspended, and four years of probation.
He served the initial term, then returned to prison several times for violating probation. Some of those incidents involved charges of criminal conduct in New Bedford, Mass.
Gutfinski was released on probation from the Maine State Prison on April 27, 2010, and discharged from probation on July 8, 2010, said Jody Breton, associate commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections.
Gutfinski had a series of hornlike objects implanted in his forehead. Now they are visible as bumps, three on each side. He also has had a series of tattoos, some reaching to his face, and a roughly drawn 666 in the middle of his forehead.
Gutfinski tried – and failed – in 2003 to get a Kennebec County Probate Court judge to approve his name change to “Diszade Trash Horror.”
In that petition, Gutfinski described himself as a religious Satanist.
“I wish to shed all ties with the Christian church, and one important step toward that goal is legally changing my name,” he wrote.
In his successful name-change petition in Knox County, Gutfinski wrote, “Adopted as a child, (I) have no blood relation with, nor do I share the nationality my given name implies. It has long been a burden for me and I feel the new name I have carefully and with much thought, chosen more justly represents my individuality and nationality. This name is also in keeping with my religious beliefs.”
Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Betty Adams can be contacted at 621-5631 or at: badams@centralmaine.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.