Prosecutor: South Boston Grandmother Killed For Fishing Gear
SOUTH BOSTON (CBS) - The man charged with the brutal murder of a South Boston grandmother last week was looking for fishing equipment when he killed her, the prosecutor said Monday.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
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Timothy Kostka, 26, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and home invasion in South Boston Municipal Court Monday afternoon.
He was arrested Sunday for the murder of 67-year-old Barbara Coyne inside her home on East 7th Street on Marathon Monday April 16.
Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight said Kostka knew the Coyne family and planned to break into their home to steal some valuable fishing equipment that belonged to Coyne's son Richard, who lives in apartment upstairs and was supposed to run the marathon that day.
"At about 9:30 on that morning the defendant called a contact asking him where he could sell some high-end fishing equipment," Knight told the court Monday.
The prosecutor said Richard Coyne usually runs the marathon, but didn't this year because of the heat.
Knight said Coyne saw his mother just minutes before she was attacked.
"In fact, it only took a few short minutes for the defendant to gain entry into the home, brutalize Barbara Coyne, rifle through the house and then flee," Knight said.
She had been beaten and her throat had been slashed.
Richard Coyne heard noises and returned to his mother's home to find her dying on the floor.
"In (her) last moments, (she) was able to give a minimal, but helpful, description of her assailant," Knight said.
The state said that forensic evidence, including fingerprints on Barbara Coyne's jewelry box, led them to Kostka who was ordered held without bail.
Investigators say Kostka took a winning lottery ticket from Coyne's home and cashed it in at a nearby store after the murder.
He then used some of the stolen money to buy heroin in Roxbury, authorities said.
