Stabbing at home of UMass Boston head
Cops: Fight broke out at party
Police are probing a stabbing at the home of UMass Boston Chancellor J. Keith Motley early yesterday morning, apparently the result of a fight at a party that rattled his quiet Stoughton neighborhood and sent a 20-year-old man to a Boston hospital.
Stoughton police Chief Donna McNamara said in a statement that a 20-yearold male was transported to a Boston hospital from the home after police received a 911 report of a stabbing shortly after 2:45 a.m.
Motley, who was not home at the time of the 2:48 a.m. stabbing, said in a statement that he was “very concerned about it as well as the health of the young man who was injured.”
“I was traveling and not home at the time, but I am returning as quickly as possible so that I can fully understand what happened and respond accordingly,” Motley said in the statement, issued yesterday afternoon.
Joseph Feaster, an attorney who is a friend and neighbor, answered the door at Motley’s home yesterday and said the chancellor would offer more comments upon returning from his trip.
“It wasn’t that big a party at all,” Feaster said. “It was just a couple of young adults that were here.”
But neighbors said they saw a large number of cars lining both sides of quiet Palisades Circle after the Patriots game ended around midnight.
Neighbor Michael Silveira said, “It was unbelievable, especially at that hour.”
But Silveira said Motley’s family are “good, good people” and that Motley is “the best guy.”
“It’s just too bad that it happened,” Silveira said. “It’s crazy.”
Friends of the victim reportedly tried to drive him to a hospital, but ended up flagging down the ambulance that transported him to Boston Medical Center. There was no immediate report on his condition.
Police are urging anyone who attended the house party at the $612,500 home or has information about what happened to call Stoughton detectives at 781-344-2575.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s office was not involved in the investigation, spokesman David Traub said.
Motley, 60, was appointed University of Massachusetts Boston chancellor in 2007. He is a father of three, according to his biography. Neighbors said two of his children live with him.
A spokesman for UMass President Marty Meehan said in a statement that Meehan was briefed on the incident, and referred to Motley’s statements.
“This appears to be an incident at a private residence. We don’t have anything to add to the chancellor’s statement at this point,” Meehan spokesman Jeff Cournoyer said.