On September 20, 2024, a Massachusetts man staggered into the emergency room of a nearby hospital, clutching a bloodied knife and alleging that a serial murderer had stabbed his girlfriend.
Tyler Baglini, 32, claimed the serial killer also targeted him.
Officers hurried to Kerri Fidalgo’s New Bedford apartment and found her in the basement with several stab wounds, according to ABC6, The Herald News, and WPRI.
Fidalgo had been stabbed 14 times in the neck, head, and chest, with defensive wounds on her hands, according to The Herald News.
She was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, where she was declared dead.
However, there was no serial killer after all. Baglini has now admitted that he killed her.
Baglini pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Fall River Superior Court on Tuesday, October 28, according to ABC6, The Herald News, and WPRI.
He was condemned to life in prison, with the chance of parole in 25 years.
The day before the horrific murder, Fidalgo and Baglini had “extensive” text message talks about Baglini’s mental health, according to court documents obtained by WPRI.
Prosecutors claimed Baglini appeared paranoid during the talks, causing Fidalgo to tell him to go to the hospital.
Fidalgo’s final text to Baglini at 9:57 a.m. the morning before the murder read: “Tyler, we can discuss later. After you have checked out. You need assistance. You need to improve. You are having an episode and are paranoid. Everything will be fine, but you need assistance. I love you. I care about you. Please.”
Baglini responded: “Goodbye, I genuinely loved you and forgive you. It’s time to go to hell; you were the best thing that ever happened to me.
Later that day, Baglini called Fidalgo to say he was going to the hospital, but he didn’t, according to prosecutors.
Instead, he returned to Fidalgo’s apartment building, where he killed her, prosecutors claimed.
“I was so proud of the woman she was becoming,” Fidalgo’s mother, Melissa Fidalgo, stated in court, according to the Herald News.
While she anticipated many pleasant times with her baby, she confessed, “I found myself planning her funeral.”
Fidalgo worked in the probation department at New Bedford District Court, which also heard her murder trial, according to WPRI.
She also worked as a nanny for her father at a residential management company, according to the outlet.
She lived with her family and sisters.
