On October 30, 2021, 34-year-old Eric Hargrett of Framingham was found inside a Hayes Street residence with an apparent gunshot wound to the head and multiple lacerations. Police were dispatched after a 1:19 a.m. 911 call from a woman who knew Hargrett; officers found him deceased on arrival and an autopsy confirmed death by gunshot to the head.

Investigators say the Hayes Street property functioned as a rooming house. Hargrett was not a resident but had been in a room rented by a male acquaintance. Police determined Hargrett had phoned two Framingham brothers, Aaron Sutton, 49, and Eugene Sutton Jr., 52, and agreed to meet them at the address. Witnesses and surveillance footage reported hearing a shot after the three men entered; the brothers fled immediately afterward. The investigation alleges the brothers robbed Hargrett, he was slashed during an altercation, and Eugene Sutton then shot him.

Aaron Sutton was arrested in Framingham on November 2, 2021, and charged with murder, armed robbery, armed assault to murder, and firearm possession. Eugene Sutton was never apprehended and was later reported to have died in West Anaheim, California, on January 31, 2022. Did anyone in the community see Eric that night or recognize the Hayes Street rooming house activity?