Haverhill man sentenced to life in prison for murder: YES

HAVERHILL, MA — A Haverhill man has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for killing a Groveland man, according to a statement from Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker.

Leedell Graham was found guilty earlier this month in Salem Superior Court of first-degree murder with extreme atrocity or cruelty and burglary with intent to commit larceny over $1,200. He is scheduled for sentencing Friday in Salem Superior Court.

Graham was charged with killing 82-year-old Patsy “Pat” Schena at her home on Governor’s Road in Groveland.

Prosecutors alleged that Graham entered Schena’s home with the intent to burglarize it on June 21, 2019. When Schena returned home, Graham struck Schena with a lamp and stabbed him with a knife, according to the affidavit.

Graham was arrested in June 2019.

The prosecution “presented a body of video evidence documenting that Graham was in the vicinity of Schena’s home at the time of the crime, as well as DNA evidence implicating Graham,” according to the statement.

Schena was a former Groveland building inspector whose carpentry and construction work built many homes in Massachusetts and who served six years in the U.S. Army Reserves.

“While no one can undo this horrific crime, we hope that the verdict in this case will bring Mr. Schena’s family a small measure of peace knowing that justice has been served,” Tucker said in a statement.