Haverhill Man Convicted Of 2017 Stabbing Murder

HAVERHILL, MA — A Haverhill Man was convicted Tuesday of stabbing a man to death and injuring another outside a Haverhill bar in 2017.

Hayden Delafuente, 25, was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and armed assault with intent to kill.

Delafuente will be sentenced June 30 by Judge Thomas Drechsler.

“This was a senseless act of violence,” Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement. “I’d like to thank the jury for their service and hope that their verdict will provide the friends and loved ones of Mr. Sabatino some peace.”

On May 28, 2017, Matthew Sabatino, 28 of Lawrence, was fatally stabbed and Daniel Doore, 34 of Haverhill, was seriously injured outside a Haverhill bar.

According to witnesses, Sabatino, Sabatino's fiance, Doore and Doore's girlfriend were out together that evening.

"The defendant confronted Doore as the group was walking away from the Chit Chat Lounge," prosecutors said. "While this was happening Sabatino came back to the area and was stabbed in the heart. Doore was also stabbed five times, two of them to his lower back."

Sabatino died at Massachusetts General Hospital on June 8, 2017.