Bristol man convicted of killing grandmother, pawning her jewelry
PROVIDENCE – A Bristol man was convicted last week of murdering his grandmother more than six years ago to get money to buy heroin, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Tuesday.
Raymond Paiva IV, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder and other charges Thursday in Superior Court, Neronha said in a news release.
The victim, Eudora Gustafson, 62, had taken in Paiva and his girlfriend months earlier when they needed a place to live, The Journal previously reported. The girlfriend, then 21, has also been charged. Her case is pending.
Paiva smothered his grandmother, pawned her jewels
On the afternoon of Feb. 10, 2017, Paiva was at his grandparents' home on Sowams Drive in Bristol, having recently used heroin and wanting to buy more, Neronha said.
Soon after his grandfather left for work, Paiva attacked his grandmother in the first-floor living room, Neronha said. Paiva smothered her with a pillow and covered her head with a trash bag with the drawstring pulled tightly around her neck, he said.
Paiva took his grandmother’s rings, more jewelry from a bedroom safe, half-dollar coins and her checkbook before fleeing in her car, Neronha said. He then tried unsuccessfully to cash a check from the checkbook at a nearby Citizens Bank, according to Neronha.
The murder was discovered after the bank called Mark Gustafson to tell him that somebody had tried to cash a check belonging to his wife, according to previous Journal reporting. Gustafson headed for the bank but the person was already gone. Then he went home and found his wife's body.
A day before his wife's death, Mark Gustafson had filed a complaint with the Bristol Police Department, saying he suspected Paiva had been stealing checks and jewelry to buy drugs, The Journal previously reported.
At about 7 p.m. on Feb. 10, Paiva pawned his grandmother's jewelry at a North Providence pawn shop and bought heroin in Providence, Neronha said. The Providence police apprehended him a short time later. Having been on the lookout for the stolen car, Providence officers shot and wounded Paiva and his girlfriend after they crashed into a snowbank in the city's North End, The Journal previously reported.
DNA from the victim and the trash bag matched Paiva's DNA, Neronha said.
Paiva also pleaded guilty to four counts of receiving stolen goods, less than $1,500; two counts of forgery and one count of obtaining property under false pretenses, less than $1,500.
He is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 3.
The case against Paiva's co-defendant, Selena Martinez, is pending in Superior Court. She is charged with murder, as well as other crimes.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Raymond Paiva convicted for killing grandmother, selling her jewelry
