Web Desk
BOSTON — The family of a 20-year-old man who was fatally stabbed last year at an apartment complex in Leominster has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the property owners and others.
A civil suit filed Thursday in Worcester Superior Court claims that the ownership, management, and security services were responsible for the death of Robert Wright-Day. He was killed in the early hours of May 7, 2024, at Riverside Village Apartment Complex.
The lawsuit, filed by the victim’s mother, Stacey Houston, includes a wrongful death count and multiple negligence counts against Riverside Village Apartments, its management company Schochet Riverside Manager, and security firms ISSM Protective Services and Archer Security Agency.
Houston expressed her frustration, stating, “If security had been present, they could have called 911 and gotten my child out faster, instead of him bleeding to death. This tragedy could have been prevented if they had followed their own policies.”
Speaking to reporters at the Boston offices of Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers, the firm representing her, Houston described her son as “loving” and “a good kid.”
According to the lawsuit, Wright-Day and his friends went to Riverside Village Apartments, near North Main Street in Leominster, for a car meet-up before the fatal stabbing.
The suit alleges that such gatherings were frequent at the complex, prompting residents to file noise complaints. As a result, Riverside hired Archer Security, which was later taken over by New Jersey-based ISSM.
Attempts to contact Schochet, Riverside Village Apartments, ISSM, and Archer Security for comments on Thursday were unsuccessful.
The lawsuit states that Wright-Day was stabbed around 1 a.m.
Three days after the incident, a Fitchburg man was charged with murder, and two others faced assault and battery charges.
Juan Diaz-Contreras, of Fitchburg, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, is being held without bail on a murder charge. Edgar K. Perez-Tuero, then 21 and from Gardner, and Christian Joel Santiago, then 19 and from Leominster, were charged with assault and battery and have been released on bail.
John McCarthy, one of Houston’s attorneys, said on Thursday that the cause of the conflict leading to the stabbing remains unclear.
The victim’s father, Delmahr Wright, sat beside Houston during the press conference, both wearing shirts printed with Wright-Day’s photo. Wright shared the emotional toll of his son’s death, saying, “It’s been hard because Tuesday comes, and I don’t get to talk to him anymore.”
Houston’s lawsuit seeks financial compensation for medical bills, funeral and burial costs, pain and suffering, and other related expenses.
While the lawsuit does not specify a monetary amount, McCarthy emphasized the case’s purpose. “The lawsuit does nothing for Stacey Houston in terms of satisfaction. Robert Day is not going to walk through her door again. But we intend to hold all parties accountable, and that is exactly what we’re going to do,” he said.
