Danvers Man Gets Life in Prison for Murdering Father

Twenty-six-year-old Stephen Anastasi of Danvers was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to killing his father at their Auburn Street home in 2011.

The Salem News reports that Anastasi's guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge was the result of a plea agreement accepted by Lawrence Superior Court Judge Mary Ames.

Anastasi was initially charged with first-degree murder for bludgeoning his father, 60-year-old John Anastasi, with a hammer and then stabbing him in the neck on the morning of Nov. 11, 2011.

In between the two attacks, the younger Anastasi had purchased and used heroin, he later confessed to police. He had initially told neighbors that aliens in the woods were killing people and that they needed to help him save his cat from said aliens.

Moments later, neighbors went with Anastasi to his home and knocked on the door. He informed them then his father was dead, killed by the aliens.

At that point, the neighbors entered the home and found the father dead on the floor and covered with blankets. While one neighbor distracted the suspect, another neighbor called 911.

Police arrived moments later and took the son into custody. Neighbors told Danvers Patch at the time the younger Anastasi was often in trouble with police and there was constant fighting going on at the home.

Anastasi reportedly confessed to killing his father after his arrest, but still pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in court last year.

The Salem News reports that the second-degree murder charge carries an automatic life sentence, but Anastasi will be eligible for parole in 15 years.