The man accused of knifing six people unprovoked in Massachusetts, and reportedly killing his Connecticut roommate over the weekend, went berserk over a dispute between his housemate and their neighbors ahead of the bloody spree, nearby residents said.
Jared Ravizza, 26, was apparently set off after two women called the cops on his roommate, an older man identified by residents only as “Bruce,” who they accused of trespassing on their property while walking his dog in the Deep River neighborhood, locals told The Post Monday.
“It sounded like whatever happened was a match to the stick,” neighbor Charlie Brashears said.
Ravizza allegedly chucked a shovel through the women’s window on Saturday — breaking it, according to photos and neighbors. The women called the cops again but when officers showed up to question him, they were met with a grisly scene at the home he and Bruce were renting through Vrbo, an Airbnb competitor.
Bruce and his dog were found dead — leading to a heavy police response in the sleepy New England neighborhood on Saturday, neighbors said.
But Ravizza was nowhere to be found as he had crossed state lines into Massachusetts where he allegedly continued on a violent rampage.
He was later arrested after allegedly stabbing four girls, ages 9 to 17, in a Braintree AMC before driving to a McDonald’s in Plymouth and knifing a pair of workers, leaving all the victims with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
He had not been arrested or charged with anything in connection to the Connecticut murder as of Monday night and police there would not immediately confirm details of the alleged crime shared by local residents.
The community members said Bruce would walk around the neighborhood with his gray poodle and sit on people’s porches without an invitation, leading the pair of women at one home to tell him to scram. That stern directive appeared to set off Ravizza when he heard about it, neighbors claimed.
“[The women] said, ‘Hey, this isn’t appropriate and you need to leave’ and they called the police to make a complaint,” Brashears told The Post. “It sounded like whatever happened was a match to the stick. Jared picked up a shovel, went down to their house and threw a shovel at their window.”
Another neighbor, Joe Ostering, also told The Post Ravizza threw the shovel at the window after Bruce’s run-in with the women.
“I guess he told Jared about it because Jared apparently went back to that house and threw a shovel right through their window,” Ostering, 64, said. “I’m not sure if it was before or after he killed Bruce. That’s how it all started. Then he left here and went to the movie theater.”
Only a pair of officers initially responded, but soon chaos ensued in the typically sleepy area after the body was found.
“There was an Essex policeman and a state policeman,” Brashears, 54, said. “It looked like how they would respond to a domestic disturbance. I understand they found the body. There were two cops, then whammo — within about 10 minutes all hell broke loose and there were 7 or 8 cop cars.”
Brashears said when he later asked officers if the area was safe, police told him the perp was captured out of state.
Neighbors believe Bruce’s gray poodle, named Lily, was also found dead inside along with Bruce. Police did not immediately confirm this.
Ravizza checked into the rental house through Vrbo on April 20 and mostly kept to himself as he came and went in the Porsche Macan he later crashed following his alleged stabbing spree, according to neighbors.
But Bruce, who moved in about two weeks ago, was more social. He would freely tell people he was “broke” and was being put up by Ravizza, who was supposed to stay in the home for at least a couple months.
“Bruce said he had a friend in the Vrbo who he was staying with,” Brashears said. “He made it clear he was broke. Bruce said he hoped his friend was going to let him stay for the rest of the month.”
Brashears said his mother-in-law stopped by on Wednesday while he was working in New York City and heard the two men arguing, though unclear over what.
“It was a big fight,” he said. “She could hear them arguing, nothing specific but clearly two voices very angry.”
Ostering, who struck up a friendship with Bruce, said other neighbors didn’t like him, but he found Bruce to be a “true gentleman” who was just looking to chat with others. He believed he would sit on people’s porches uninvited to catch his breath — possibly due to a bad knee — while out walking Lily.
But Brashears found him to be an “odd duck.”
“Bruce would roll around with his dog unleashed and they’d sit on people’s porches. Bruce would sit in our yard uninvited,” he said. “The dog would do its business and he wouldn’t clean it up.”
Meanwhile, Ravizza, who has distinctive long blonde hair, would rarely ever chat up neighbors.
Last month, he filed to legally change his name to Jared Love Jones. He would also occasionally post photos of himself wearing lip gloss, face glitter and painted nails.
One neighbor, who did not want to be named, said while he mostly dressed as a man, he had painted his nails and occasionally wore cut-off t-shirts that showed his stomach.
Ravizza’s legal troubles date back to at least April when he was arrested on Martha’s Vineyard for allegedly attacking his father after suffering a “mental break,” the Boston Globe reported.
He’s facing counts of assault with intent to murder, and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon from Saturday’s frenzied stabbing and is due in court Tuesday.
