DA: Intruder slashed Boston man’s throat, then ate his food and slept on his couch

A Brooklyn man has been arrested for allegedly entering a 75-year-old man’s apartment in Boston’s West End last month, slashing the man’s throat, eating his food, sleeping on his couch, and fleeing the scene the next day.

Dion Pelzer, 30, was ordered held without bail in the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court on Tuesday on the charge of murder, as well as another charge out of New York for being a fugitive from justice, according to a release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

Pelzer had been wanted on a warrant out of Brooklyn in connection to a Jan. 23 knife assault, which left a victim with numerous slash wounds, the statement noted.

Video surveillance from Feb. 15 shows Pelzer follow a resident into the secured apartment building at 65 Martha Road around 9:30 p.m., according to Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight, chief of the Suffolk County District Attorney Civil Rights/High-Risk Victim’s Unit.

Pelzer allegedly rode the elevator to the 11th floor, where surveillance footage shows him trying doors to see if he could enter any of the apartments. Knight said that he took the elevator again down the 10th floor before going back to the 11th to try more doors.

Pelzer was able to get into the apartment of the victim, David MacDonald, because he often left his door unlocked so that neighbors and services such as Meals on Wheels America could easily get in without him having to get up to open the door for them, Knight said.

Knight alleged that Pelzer slashed the victim’s throat, ate his food, and slept on his couch until the next morning.

Around 8:40 a.m., some neighbors knocked on MacDonald’s door, which had been closed and locked, but did not receive a response, the assistant district attorney said.

Shortly after 9 a.m., surveillance video shows the suspect leaving the building, Knight said. Pelzer is also accused of stealing the victim’s wallet, credit cards, and keys.

After reviewing the video footage and other evidence, authorities put out a warrant for Pelzer’s arrest on Friday.

Pelzer was identified and taken into custody when police responded to a disturbance at Tufts Medical Center on Monday.

“Everything about this case is terrifying, from this man surreptitiously entering a secured residential building, to his testing the doors on numerous units, and, ultimately, to his brutal killing of Mr. MacDonald and his remaining in the apartment with the body until the next morning,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “This is a tragic reminder of how important it is to be alert to a non-resident attempting to slip into a locked building behind you.”

Pelzer will be back in court for a pre-trial hearing on April 12.