On the evening of January 8, 2006, 18-year-old Natalie A. Sumner was visiting an apartment in Allston, Boston, with a friend when two armed intruders entered intent on robbery. Witnesses were forced to lie face down; Julio Ceus was shot twice in the head and killed at the scene, and Sumner was struck in the back while lying on the floor. She was taken to a hospital and later died of her wounds.

Surviving witness identification, cell phone records, and surveillance footage showing a vehicle near the building after the shootings helped investigators. In March 2006 a suspect was indicted in the deaths of Sumner and Ceus. On September 27, 2007, the defendant was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder — deliberate premeditation for Ceus and felony murder for Sumner tied to the armed robbery.