Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Robert Bethea (age 46) with a last known address of 790 Providence Street, West Warwick, pleaded guilty today before Superior Court Justice Susan E. McGuirl to the murder of his estranged wife Shelina Moreino on Mother's Day 2014. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Bethea was sentenced to life in prison.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that on May 11, 2014, Bethea fatally stabbed Moreino in her apartment while her eight-year-old daughter was in the residence.
At approximately 5:00 a.m., Bethea called E-911 to report he had just stabbed Moreino. When police and emergency personnel responded to the second floor apartment at 149 Valley Street, Central Falls, they found Moreino on the kitchen floor suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy revealed 14 different stab wounds including a deep wound to the left neck area.
"This case serves as a reminder of the lives that are forever changed by domestic violence. A young girl was witness to the death of her mother, something no child should ever have to experience," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "As a community, we must do more to end domestic violence. If we know someone who is being abused, it is the responsibility of all of us to intervene. As this tragic case proves, domestic violence unchecked can escalate to murder."
Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit Daniel Carr Guglielmo and Special Assistant Attorney General Amy Dodge, also of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General. The investigation was led by Central Falls Police Detectives Craig Viens and Lt. John Carroll.