BOSTON (CBS) – School teacher Richard Nunez was in the front row today as Eldrick Broom denied raping and murdering his wife of 17 years.

Rosanna Camilo had moved to Mattapan to get medical treatment for her very sick toddler son, as her husband stayed behind in the Dominican Republic with another child.

But last November, prosecutors say Broom, a neighbor, entered her apartment on Fairlawn Avenue and attacked her, leaving her with an electric cord wrapped around her neck. Her disabled toddler was in a nearby crib.

WBZ-TV’s Ken MacLeod reports

In court Thursday, prosecutors said Broom’s DNA matched the rape kit and was under the victim’s fingernails from the violent afternoon encounter.

A judge had sprung Broom from jail just a few months earlier, after his pregnant girlfriend accused him of attacking and choking her.

Now, he is charged with murdering a mother of three who came to this country seeking help.

Rosanna Camilo’s 16-year-old daughter came home from school that November day to discover her mom’s body.

Until that point, the teenager had loved her time in the United States, and even told family she wanted to stay here for college.

Now, her dad says she doesn’t ever want to set foot in this country again.