Guilty Verdict: North Adams Man Convicted In 2019 Pittsfield Murder Trial

Pittsfield, Massachusetts – 

Stephanie Olivieri, 32, was murdered in 2019. A 30-year-old North Adams man was found guilty of her murder on Friday.

On August 25, 2019, in the wee hours of the morning, Pittsfield Police received a 911 call about two guys wearing masks who were reportedly strolling near 66 South John Street. The responding cops heard multiple gunshots in the vicinity while they were on their way.

The woman, later identified as Stephanie Olivieri, was in her running automobile when the police arrived on the scene. Blood was streaming down Olivieri’s right side of her head, and she was having trouble breathing.

After requesting assistance, the responding officers started saving lives. Following emergency medical attention on the site, Ms. Olivieri was taken to Berkshire Medical Center, where she was subsequently declared deceased. Her head wounds from being shot resulted in a homicide, according to the Chief Medical Examiner’s findings.

Law enforcement carried out a comprehensive investigation after the incident, which involved obtaining a number of pieces of evidence.

Items found at and near the crime scene, video footage from several homes and businesses, witnesses who were there when the crime was committed, people who may have known what happened, recorded calls from the Hampden County House of Corrections, and a single text message exchange were all included in this evidence.

SEE MORE – Cold Case Breakthrough: Arrest Made in 2003 Louisiana Murder

According to several others who testified, Tyler Sumner was allegedly going after a resident of the neighborhood where the shooting took place. They think Olivieri was not the murder’s intended victim.

A jury of his peers found Sumner guilty of first-degree murder and of possessing ammunition without a Firearm Identification Card. The Berkshire Superior Court hosted the trial. The sentence will be scheduled by Honorable Judge Flannery.

As District Attorney Shugrue read the verdict, he said:

Stephanie Olivieri was an innocent bystander who tragically died today, and although justice was achieved, her return will not be possible despite her guilty judgment. While Ms. Olivieri was sitting in a car adorned with birthday decorations and gifts for her child, Tyler Sumner killed her. Her life was brutally taken from her as she was getting ready to celebrate an amazing occasion.

The prosecutors had a difficult time proving their case against Mr. Sumner. Justice was eventually served because of the outstanding efforts of the Pittsfield Police, assisting law enforcement organizations, and victim witness advocates.

Without the outstanding efforts of Assistant District Attorneys Eramo and Winston, the guilty conviction would never have been rendered. They battled together throughout the trial and won the jury’s award of justice.

I do not accept gun violence, as our office’s work over the past 18 months has shown. The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office will not back down, no matter how difficult a case involving gun violence may be.

Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the jury for their focused attention these last two weeks. I applaud their efforts in pursuing the truth and reaching a fair conclusion.

The Commonwealth was represented by Assistant District Attorneys Amy Winston and Rachel Eramo. Jane Kibby-Peirce, Director of Victim Witness Advocates, worked for the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office.

The primary law enforcement organization looking into the matter was the Pittsfield Police Department.

The Berkshire House of Corrections, the Hampden County House of Corrections, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective Unit, and the Massachusetts State Police Firearms Identification Section all provided support to the Pittsfield Police Department.