Santa Found Guilty in Grisly East Boston Murder: DA

BOSTON, MA — A jury on Tuesday found 25-year-old Cristian Santa guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the 2012 stabbing death of 50-year-old John Barriento, who was found in an alley near his East Boston home.

Santa, of Revere, was accused of beating and stabbing Barriento after a night of drinking, leaving a bloody trail from Barriento's basemenet to the alley in which he was found. An acquaintance later picked up Santa, who was covered in blood, according to prosecutors.

Additional evidence included fingerprints left behind in the blood, four of which matched Santa's, the prosecution said.

Santa faces up to 20 years in state prison at a sentencing hearing Friday morning, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. The 25-year-old had previously pleaded innocent.

According to the DA's office, his charges were changed from first-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter, which indicates the jury did not believe the crime came from deliberately premeditated malice, or was done with extreme atrocity or cruelty.

Read More: Santa in Boston Court Tuesday, Accused of 'Grisly' Murder

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