Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced that Armando Garcia (DOB: 10/16/79), with a last known address of 486 Mineral Spring Avenue, Pawtucket, was found guilty of the murder of Brooke Lee Verdoia by a Providence County Superior Court jury after a nine-day trial presided over by Superior Court Justice Susan E. McGuirl.
The jury deliberated for five hours before returning with the verdict, finding Garcia guilty of murder, failure to report a death and driving a motor vehicle without consent of the owner.
During the course of the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that in the early morning hours of June 25, 2010, Armando Garcia brutally attacked and murdered 30-year-old Brooke Lee Verdoia in her home, while her young child slept. Garcia and Verdoia were involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the murder.
The evidence proved that Verdoia died from seven separate blunt force trauma injuries and seven stab wounds. After killing her in the living room, Garcia moved her lifeless body to her bedroom, where the State proved he staged a robbery and rape.
During the course of the investigation, Pawtucket Police located Verdoia's Cadillac Escalade in the vicinity of the home of Garcia's grandmother. A witness testified that while cleaning the Escalade at the request of the defendant, he saw blood on the interior of the vehicle. Despite the cleaning, blood was found inside the vehicle that was later determined to be Verdoia's. Police obtained Garcia's clothes, which also contained blood evidence. Once arrested, Garcia's gave conflicting accounts to police and finally admitting he killed her.
"October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I can think of no case more than this to remind us of the tragic consequences of domestic violence," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "Brooke Verdoia was violently ripped away from her child and her family by a violent man who had no regard for her life. After he bludgeoned her to death, Garcia's only concern was to cover up his crime as he staged her home and her body to make it appear as a robbery and rape. He was not concerned for the safety of Brooke's young child, sleeping peacefully just a few feet away. He was not concerned for Brooke's mother, who found her lifeless body the next day. While today's verdict does nothing to bring Brooke back to her family, I hope it will serve as a stark reminder that we all need to do more to end domestic violence."
Pawtucket Police Detectives Donti Rosciti and David Silva led the investigation. Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Criminal Division Stacey Veroni prosecuted the case on behalf of the Department of Attorney General.