Maceo Martin, a 41-year-old man from Boston, was a father of two remembered by his family for his love, sense of humor, and joyful spirit. “To know Maceo, was to know his infectious laugh,” one of his sisters later said. In the early morning hours of October 8, 2024, his life was cut short during a domestic dispute in the city’s Roxbury neighborhood.
Shortly after 1:00 a.m., Martin went to the Hammond Street apartment building where his ex-wife lived with their children. Upset that she was with another man, Martin began ringing the doorbell and shouting insults. His ex-wife was in the front entryway, trying to get him to leave through the locked door. Also inside the apartment was her new romantic partner, Widmaer Lapaix.
Lapaix, then 27, came downstairs armed with a Kel-Tec rifle that he lawfully owned. He fired a single shot through the entryway window, striking Martin once in the chest.
Emergency services rushed Martin to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police arrested Lapaix, a resident of North Attleboro, and charged him with murder. At his arraignment in Roxbury District Court, he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. Investigators built their case using video surveillance, forensic evidence, and witness statements.
The case proceeded to a nine-day trial in Suffolk Superior Court. On April 3, 2026, a jury found Widmaer Lapaix, then 29, guilty of second-degree murder.
At his sentencing hearing on April 6, 2026, Martin’s family shared memories of his smile and spirit. Lapaix offered a brief apology to Martin’s family and his own. A judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden called the death “a tragic outcome of quick and terrible decision-making by a person holding a gun.” As of April 2026, the case was closed.
