RI woman arrested for illegally providing gun used in Mass. murder-suicide

by: Sarah Guernelli, Eli Sherman

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — The family of a Massachusetts woman killed earlier this year in a murder-suicide is speaking out after police arrested a Rhode Islander accused of illegally providing the gun.

ORIGINAL NOTE: https://www.wpri.com/target-12/ri-woman-arrested-for-illegally-providing-gun-used-in-mass-murder-suicide/

Loren Marino, 24, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, died in March when police said Austin Amaral, 24, of North Providence, went to her home and shot her nine times before turning the gun on himself.

Marino’s parents, Christine Marino and Gary Levesque, who live in Rhode Island where Marino grew up, said their world was turned upside down that day. They said they have since been fighting for information about what happened and how Amaral got the weapon he used to kill their daughter.

“I started taking action into my own hands and reached out to everybody I could,” Marino told Target 12 in an exclusive interview this week.

On Tuesday, police arrested Heather Costa, 37, of Warwick, and charged her with providing false information when securing a firearm, along with the illegal sale of a weapon.

Police allege Costa bought a Glock 17 pistol under false pretenses in January and then delivered it to Amaral, who went on to use it when he killed Marino in March. Amaral shot Marino four times in the head, according to her mother.

“It was really a bad, irresponsible decision on her part and I don’t have anything to say to her,” the mother said about Costa.

Costa was arraigned on Tuesday in Kent County District Court and was released on personal recognizance. She didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. Her next court date is scheduled for December.

While specific details remain murky, the murder-suicide in Haverhill came after Amaral and Marino had been seeing each other for a couple of months. A neighbor found them both dead inside Marino’s apartment and the Essex County District Attorney’s Office ultimately ruled Amaral shot Marino before killing himself.

But Christine said it’s since felt impossible to get information about her daughter’s death. Christine said Haverhill police initially told her Marino was shot once. Then they said twice, she said. Finally, the autopsy report came out and neither was correct.

“My husband and I realized she was shot nine times,” Christine said. “Four to the face and the rest to the body.”

Feeling like she’d been lied to about the gun wounds, Christine said she became her own advocate and pressed police to investigate who was responsible for Amaral obtaining the gun.

A spokesperson for the Essex County District Attorney’s Office said investigators did a ballistic testing of the weapon, traced its owner back to Warwick and notified local police in May.

But Christine said it became clear the local police department didn’t know about it until she became frustrated with the pace of the investigation and reached out directly to Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi in July. The text message, she said, kickstarted the investigation into Costa.

“With the Warwick Police Department, it was very quickly investigated,” Christine said.

A local police report wasn’t immediately available publicly, but Levesque said police told them Costa bought the weapon for Amaral because the man didn’t have a license and couldn’t obtain one himself. Costa and Amaral had also been in a romantic relationship, Christine said they were told by police.

“She purchased it for him,” Levesque said. “If you don’t feel like you can be responsible for a firearm then you shouldn’t purchase it.”

Levesque said he doesn’t understand why Amaral killed his daughter. He lauded Warwick police for bringing the charges against Costa, but he also expressed frustration that it had taken five months since his daughter’s death.

Levesque said he didn’t think it would have happened at all without the advocacy of his wife, and the father’s now hopeful they can get some closure as a family.

“She reached out to everybody every day — anyone she could to get this case moved along — and she did,” Levesque said. “This case — it should be near its end now and if this is going to bring some solace to our family and to Loren’s friends — that is all we want.”

The family is now trying to find homes for Marino’s dogs, Darla and Spanky, who are awaiting adoption at the Hotel for Homeless Dogs in Cumberland.