A Fall River man pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from a June 10 double homicide that saw one victim allegedly impaled with a pitchfork and another allegedly bludgeoned with a cobblestone.

 

Vitor Francisco Gomes, 28, was arraigned in Bristol County Superior Court on Aug. 24 on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of carrying a firearm without a license.

 

He is being held without bail, something agreed to by prosecutors and his defense lawyer.

 

The double homicide in Fall River's South End rattled locals, with a neighborhood bar calling it a “freak event,” the district attorney describing it as “brutal and depraved” and Mayor Paul Coogan calling it “a tragedy for the city of Fall River.”

 

Gomes was previously arraigned in district court. Criminal cases can move up to superior court when defendants are indicted by a grand jury. Gomes was indicted on Aug. 13.

 

The victims are Pablo Henrique Rocha-DaSilva, 20, of Whitman and Eduardo Cardoso DaSilva, 19, of Fall River. It is unclear if the victims are related to each other.

 

Under Massachusetts law, superior courts have jurisdiction over first-degree murder cases, which arise when prosecutors allege killings are committed with “deliberately premeditated malice” or with “extreme atrocity or cruelty.”

 

Gomes’ specific charges state that he assaulted and beat the two victims “with intent to murder.”

 

Judge Thomas J. Perrino scheduled a pretrial conference for Sept. 28 and a pretrial hearing for Feb. 9, 2027. Because Gomes’ case involves murder charges, it must be disposed within 360 days.

 

Perrino allowed motions by Gomes' defense requesting funds for a private investigator and a psychiatrist or neurologist.

 

See more at heraldnews.com.