On the evening of December 22, 2014, 45-year-old Paul Milluzzo was fatally shot in the parking lot of Smitty’s Tavern in Worcester, Massachusetts. A Leicester resident, Milluzzo was found with multiple gunshot wounds. He was a carpenter and business owner, a father, and had been with his fiancée for 23 years; his death devastated his mother and son.

Investigators worked the case for months. In March 2015 authorities arrested 48-year-old Peter M. Jasper, identified as Milluzzo’s cousin, after probing a deteriorated relationship tied in part to a failed business partnership. Prosecutors described a long-simmering grievance and presented circumstantial evidence at trial that the killing was planned.

In September 2016 a Worcester Superior Court jury found Peter Jasper guilty of first-degree murder; the judge imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Jasper denied shooting his cousin, saying he went to watch and knew someone who intended to rob Milluzzo. Did anyone who knew Paul or the family notice tensions after the failed business venture that might shed light on what led to this violence?