Cotuit, Mass. Man Accused of Killing Wife

A Massachusetts man is being held without bail for allegedly killing his wife Tuesday morning in Cotuit.

According to the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, Christoper Fratantonio, 36, is accused of killing 35-year-old Mary Fratantonio at their home at 89 Trout Brook Rd.

Police responded to the home around 2 a.m. after several 911 calls reporting a violent crime.

Cotuit-Couple-NBC
Colchester Police
Chirs Fratantonio and Mary (Molly) Fratantonio

Prosecutors allege that when investigators were called to the home, Fratantonio admitted to stabbing his wife to death in the couple's bedroom.

"That's tough," said Richard Aliberti. "Oh geez, she was a nice woman too.".

"That's pretty surprising, I would never think in a million years that he would have done this," said Eric Christensen, a friend of Fratantonio and former coworker.

Mary Fratantonio, who was known as Molly by friends, family and coworkers, was a special education teacher at Barnstable High School. 

"She was a really nice teacher," said student Luke Pineo. "She was the best teacher too, she would always smile at me when I came into class, I'm just sad she passed away."

Pineo was one of Mary Fratantonio's 8th-grade students. He spoke to NBC Boston about her tragic death with permission from his mother.

"(She was) somebody that I could trust," said Pineo. "She would stay and help me with my school work and my projects."

Mary Fratantonio was also a teacher in the New Bedford school system for several years before moving to Cape Cod.

Her husband owned a flooring company and had two older children from previous relationships.

"Chris seemed like a loving guy. We knew him for years and he was always real sweet with the kids, he was always real sweet to Molly, that we could see," said Megan Leavitt, who babysat for the couple.

"They seemed to get along perfectly just fine, so we were actually just shocked about hearing about this," said David Champlin, who works for Fratantonio.

Friends said they knew the Fratantonios were having financial and marital issues. They said Mary had asked for a divorce and Chris was supposed to have moved out on Friday.

"He seemed upset over it," Leavitt said. "He didn't seem angry, he seemed very sad that it was going to end."

The incident remains under investigation.

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