By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A Peabody District Court judge has impounded a case involving the suspect of Lookout Terrace man’s homicide.
Middleton resident John Kosta, 53, was arraigned for the murder of Timothy O’Neil of 4 Lookout Terr. on July 29. He pled not guilty to the murder charge later that day and he was held without bail.
Kosta returned to court for a probable cause hearing on Aug. 27 via Zoom. Michael Keefe-Feldman, who is Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s chief of communications, informed the Villager that the case was impounded.
According to Massachusetts Trial Court Rules Eight, an impoundment is the “act of keeping some or all of the papers, documents, or exhibits, or portions thereof, in a case separate and unavailable for public inspection.”
“It shall also be deemed to include the act of keeping dockets, indices, and other records unavailable for public inspection,” states Massachusetts Trial Court Rules Eight. “Put more simply, ‘impoundment’ prevents the public, but not the parties, from gaining access to the material. By contrast, ‘sealing’ prevents not only the public, but the parties and their counsel from gaining access to the material; only appropriate court personnel can access sealed information, unless limited disclosure is otherwise ordered. Regardless of the terminology used, parties must be aware of and comply with the applicable rules regarding the proper filing of the information in any appeal.”
Massachusetts State Police (MSP) detectives assigned to Tucker’s office took Kosta into custody in the early morning of Tuesday, July 29 with assistance from the MSP Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) and the United States Marshals Service.
Lynnfield Police responded to a 911 call at approximately 8:30 p.m. on May 9 and found O’Neil in his home with apparent trauma. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Tucker and Lynnfield Police Chief Nick Secatore did not release any details about what led up to O’Neil’s death.
Doreen Arnold said in an interview with NBC 10 Boston reporter Malcolm Johnson that she heard “three or four police cars” responding to the 4 Lookout Terrace home on May 9.
“It was so dark that we couldn’t see anything,” said Arnold. “It was a gentlemen who we have known probably since we got here 12 1/2 years ago. He always seemed very nice. Nothing has ever happened like that around here, since we have been here.”
O’Neil’s death is the second homicide to occur in Lynnfield in the past nine years and the fourth in the past 15.