Man In Foxborough Murder-Suicide Was a Dedham Native, Court Records Show

FOXBOROUGH, MA — The man who police say killed his 6-year-old son in Foxborough before taking his own life was originally from Dedham, according to court records.

William F. Scaccia, 49, shot his son before turning the gun on himself Thursday night on East Street, authorities said. Investigators said he attempted to burn down the house before killing himself. The boy's grandmother, who lives at the home, was able to extinguish the small fire before police arrived.

Anthony Scaccia, 6, lived at the Foxborough home with his mother and grandmother, according to police. His father was not believed to be a resident at the time of the shootings.

Court records obtained by multiple media outlets show a long history of legal trouble for Scaccia. A 1986 graduate of Dedham High School, Scaccia graduated from Northeastern University in 1996. He later joined the Army and was deployed to Iraq twice between 2002 and 2005.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 8 on charges stemming from his latest legal issues - allegations that he assaulted members of a family group and had a knife at a party in Foxborough. He was to face charges of assault and battery and assault with a dangerous weapon.

In 2013, an affidavit obtained by WXFT contained the fears of the 6-year-old's mother. Laurie Tolliver said that during a discussion of custody of Anthony, William said he would disappear with the boy if she requested child support and denied him equal custody.

"You don't know the depths I will go to keep my son. You have not seen how evil I can be," the affidavit read.

On Feb. 8, Foxborough Police Chief William Baker denied Scaccia a gun permit. Baker noted that Scaccia was the subject of a domestic restraining order and wrote, "I believe there is a preponderance of evidence in this administrative context to establish that you did violate the order; possessed a gun in violation of that order; and lied to the police during the course of their investigation while in possession of that firearm.”

His appeal for the permit in Wrentham District Court was also denied.

On Friday, police said he had no active restraining orders.

Reporting by Alex Newman was used in this report.

Image via Foxborough Police Department