A brutal 1988 murder left a Brockton family shattered, and their fear of the killer only grew as he evaded capture for more than a decade.
In 2003, the family felt justice had finally been served when Anthony LoConte’s cold case was solved and Robert Morganti was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But now, because of a 2024 law change, Morganti is up for parole — and the family’s fear has returned.
“Who knows what he’s going to be capable of doing,” said Cindy O’Donnell, next to her twin sister, Susan Sward, two of LoConte’s older sisters.
In Jan. 2024, the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Mattis determined that sentencing people ages 18 through 20 at the time of the offense to life without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional.
This allowed Morganti, who was 19 when he shot and killed LoConte, and many others to be allowed to have parole board hearings. Morganti’s first hearing will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
More than 6,000 people have signed a Change.org petition created by LoConte’s nephew in hopes of either reversing the ruling or adding stricter policy and guidelines and urging case by case assessments.
“We are fighting hard to keep Morganti behind bars,” the petition states.
What happened on May 10, 1988
Morganti was known to be a mid-level distributor of cocaine in Brockton in 1988 and often worked with another man, Jeffrey Tessier.
On the night of the killing, Tessier was attempting to trick Morganti into paying him for fake drugs by putting a package of various items, including “Old Spice” into a container, according to court documents. Tessier did this at LoConte’s house after getting takeout Chinese food.
Morganti gave Tessier $10,500 for the paper bag package. When Tessier got back, he handed $2,000 to LoConte, according to court documents.
But Morganti quickly caught on to the ruse.
While LoConte’s mother was sitting watching TV, Morganti came back to the house and began banging angrily and demanding his money back.
LoConte, 24, ran out the door.
He was found at 11 p.m. with a gunshot wound to his head on the side of the road. The gun had been fired less than 6 inches from LoConte’s head.
His sisters called it “horrific,” adding that he was beaten, shot, dumped on the street and run over.
Later, officials said Morganti told a friend that he had “killed the wrong person.” After getting some of the money back, Morganti left for California.
A homicide warrant was issued against Morganti on May 11, 1988, but for the next 12 years he remained a fugitive — and the family remained afraid.
“We didn’t know if he was going to come back [to] kill my mother or the rest of our family,” O’Donnell said.
Who was Anthony LoConte?
When his sisters picture LoConte — one of five siblings — they remember him dancing, singing and playing baseball on the street.
They remember him at 9, going up on stage during a cruise to singe Frank Sinatra’s “You Make Me Feel so Young.”
“He got a standing ovation. He was a star on the ship,” O’Donnell said.
And they remember him in his 20s, picking up his niece and dancing around the living.
Although it’s been more than 35 years, they still feel his presence with them every day. But it’s hard imagining what life could’ve been like.
“He probably would have been married or had a long time girlfriend and maybe had one or two kids” O’Donnell said. “He loved kids, so I’m sure you would have had one — a couple at least.”
The family said they’re still hearing from people who remember LoConte and what he meant to them.
Arrest
LoConte’s family never gave up hope that they’d find justice for him. They continued pushing his case, attempting to get on “America’s Most Wanted.”
Finally, on March 16, 2000, Morganti, who was going by multiple names, including Roderick Grinage, was arrested in California for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Fingerprints helped officials realize it was Morganti and that he was wanted in Massachusetts.
Officials let Morganti call his girlfriend to wish their son a happy birthday. During the call, he told her that she’d have to explain to their son that, “Daddy did a bad thing.”
No changes
But Morganti, who was about 30 when he was arrested, still hadn’t turned his life around, LoConte’s sisters said.
“He was still doing drugs, dealing drugs and stuff and whatever. He wasn’t clean. He didn’t turn his life around or anything,” she said.
Plus, he never confessed to the crime prior to getting arrested.
“He never tried to reach out to us, apologize. Nothing. Nothing,” she said.
The family has questioned if his case should qualify for parole under Mattis if he continued to make decisions to evade police past the age of 21.
But as they’ve watched other people be given parole through the Mattis decision, they are worried it’s an uphill battle.
Currently, Morganti is living at MCI-Shirley.
‘We are still suffering’
The night her brother died, O’Donnell remembers being visited by her guardian angel, who warned her something bad had happened but to “not to lose faith in God.”
Still, when she got the call in the morning, the pain was unbearable.
“I let out a scream from the pit of my stomach and dropped to the floor because I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
And time hasn’t completely healed the wounds left by Morganti.
“We are still suffering,” one twin said, her voice cracking.
“We still break down. We still cry over the case,” the other added.
Multiple family members plan to speak at the parole board hearing on Thursday in hopes of convincing the board not to give him parole.
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