Erin Fitzgibbon was a caring, family-oriented person who loved spending time with her nieces and nephews. A family member described the 30-year-old white woman from Everett, Massachusetts, as a "very nice person." In July 2021, she was staying as an overnight guest at a friend's home in the nearby city of Malden.
On the morning of July 6, 2021, a violent home invasion shattered the peace at the Fairmont Street residence. Around 7:17 a.m., the 50-year-old woman who lived there was in her kitchen when a man she knew, 30-year-old Brian Butler, appeared at her back door pointing a gun. She initially thought it was a joke, but when she realized he was serious and tried to lock the door, Butler allegedly fired his weapon at least twice. The gunshots shattered the door's glass, and he forced his way inside.
The homeowner, her husband, and their adult son fled out the front door, believing Fitzgibbon, who had been asleep in an upstairs bedroom, was with them.
Once they were safely on the porch, they heard another gunshot from inside the house. Shortly after, they saw Butler leave the home carrying a handgun and property he had taken from the room where Fitzgibbon was staying.
When police arrived, they found Fitzgibbon in the upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to her head. She was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office later stated that Fitzgibbon was "tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time," with no connection to the suspect or the events that led to the robbery.
A manhunt for Brian Butler began immediately. Investigators determined he had fled with a safe that allegedly contained heroin and pills. They also identified a second man, 24-year-old Cody DiGaetano of Chelsea, as the alleged getaway driver who drove Butler from the scene in a green Honda.
On July 7, 2021, acting on a tip that resulted from media coverage of the case, police located and arrested Butler at a home in Ashland where DiGaetano had allegedly taken him to stay overnight. DiGaetano was also taken into custody. Butler was charged with murder, armed home invasion, armed assault with intent to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and firearm possession offenses. DiGaetano was charged with accessory after the fact to an armed robbery and accessory after the fact to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. At their arraignment, Butler was held without bail, while DiGaetano was released on personal recognizance. The latest development reported in the case was the arraignment in July 2021.
