Crime & Safety

Three Indicted in Connection with Stoneham Woman's Death in 2007

Two pedestrians, a 33-year-old Stoneham woman and 28-year-old Everett man, were killed in a crash on Route 1 in Saugus in 2007.

[Editor's note: The following information is from a Essex District Attorney’s Office press statement.]

Grand Jury Indicts Three in Connection with 2007 Saugus Fatal Hit and Run 

The Essex County Grand Jury returned indictments late on Friday, December 28 charging two Winchester men and a Revere woman with conspiracy and misleading investigators in connection to the January 5, 2007 hit-and-run deaths of Tina Tello and Christopher Zullo.

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Michael S. Tranchita, Jr., 33, of 63 Harvard Street, Winchester is charged with leaving the scene of a death, conspiracy, and 2 counts of misleading a potential witness.  His father, Michael S. Tranchita, Sr., 55, of 69 Harvard Street, Winchester is charged with conspiracy, misleading a potential witness and misleading an investigator.  Lisa Cutting, 39, of 263 Bradstreet Avenue, Revere is charged with conspiracy, misleading an investigator and accessory after the fact.

On January 5, 2007, at about 11:35 p.m., police responded to a crash on Route 1 South in Saugus near Essex Street involving a vehicle and two pedestrians. Tina Tello, 33, of Stoneham, and Christopher Zullo, 28, of Everett, were attempting to cross Route 1 South in Saugus in the area of Essex Street, which is not designated for pedestrian travel. They were subsequently struck by a vehicle that was traveling southbound at the time. Ms. Tello was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr. Zullo was transported by ambulance to Mass General Hospital where he died 2 days later.

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A joint investigation was conducted by Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s Office, the MSP Crash Analysis and Reconstruction Section (CARS), and the Saugus Police Department. 

The defendants voluntarily surrendered themselves for booking this morning to Massachusetts State Police Danvers Barracks and will be summonsed to appear to be arraigned in Salem Superior Court at a future date.  Indictments are allegations only and all defendants are innocent until proven guilty in court.


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