DA: Slay victim tried to stop fight

In second assault, man charged with brutal attack on Roxbury 66-year-old

The 28-year-old man stabbed to death in East Boston on Christmas Eve was trying to break up a fight, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday.

In a separate Christmas Eve attack, a 66-year-old man was nearly beaten to death in his own home in Roxbury, and he remains hospitalized, fighting for his life, the DA’s Office said.

The arraignments for both incidents took place on

Monday. In East Boston, Steven Hatfield, 36, was arraigned on a murder charge for the killing of 28year-old Kerwide Barthelemy.

Shortly after 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Hatfield started fighting with another person in Maverick Square, prosecutors said. When Barthelemy tried to intervene, Hatfield allegedly stabbed him in the torso and killed him.

Hatfield, who had blood on his clothing from the attack, fled into his South Bremen Street apartment building, prosecutors said. Inside the building, he began to yell, and the building’s security guard called police. Police who responded to the stabbing also arrived at the building after learning that the suspect lived there.

Judge John McDonald on Monday ordered Hatfield held without bail, and ordered he stay away from and have no contact with witnesses in the case or the victim’s family.

Also in a Roxbury courtroom on Monday, Wyse Richardson, 23, was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault and battery on a person over 60 and aggravated burglary.

Richardson is accused of breaking into a Pompeii Street apartment building, and violently beating a 66year-old resident and ransacking the man’s apartment. The victim suffered a serious head injury and was transported to an area hospital, where he remains fighting for his life, according to the DA’s Office.

Based on the severity of the victim’s injuries, the case is under investigation by detectives assigned to the Boston Police Department Homicide Unit.

Judge Debra Delvecchio ordered Richardson to undergo an evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital.

“The holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy and happiness,” Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins said in a statement. “For a loved one’s life to be ripped away on Christmas Eve inflicts additional pain during this already challenging time.

“The violence these two men are accused of inflicting is deeply troubling,” she added. “Each will be held accountable for their actions. Just as importantly, my staff and I are here to ensure that Mr. Barthelemy’s loved ones as well as the Roxbury man currently fighting for his life and his loved ones have the services they deserve and may require at every step of their path in the legal process and on their journey toward healing.”