DA, law enforcement solve 31-year-old murder of Celestina Perez

Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, flanked by Springfield Police Department Superintendent Lawrence “Larry” Akers and Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble, announces a murder has been solved after 31 years.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield family can rest a little easier after more than 30 years of heartbreak and sleepless nights now that the person who killed Celestina Perez in 1995 has been identified by the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office.

“Following extensive investigative work over the last year, including the use of cutting-edge forensic testing, led by the Unresolved and Unidentified Case Investigative Unit of the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, Springfield Police Department, and with the support of the Massachusetts State Police, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Joseph James Ceravolo, Jr. killed Celestina Perez in the early morning hours of June 2, 1995,” Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni announced, flanked by Springfield Police Department Superintendent Lawrence “Larry” Akers and Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble.

Perez was found in a ravine near Genesse and Warwick streets by two people walking through Gurdon Bill Park. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation. Gulluni said there had been a violent struggle prior to her death, and blood evidence collected at the time, including Perez’s clothing and leaves foliage, suggested that the assailant had been injured.

Forensic evidence testing at the time of the murder focused on swabs taken during the autopsy, and an examination in 2009 did not provide enough DNA for testing. In 2024, the Unresolved and Unidentified Case Investigation Unit determined that advances in DNA testing might shed more light on the case.

After reexamining the evidence, including Perez’s bloodstained clothing, the State Police Crime Laboratory extracted enough DNA to enter a profile into the Combined DNA Index System. The profile matched Ceravolo and excluded 99.99% of the population. Ceravolo was a Springfield resident at the time of the murder. The State Police Crime Laboratory retested the samples to confirm the match, and an independent laboratory, DNA Labs International, tested a different sample, again determining the same genetic profile. Gulluni said his office is satisfied that Ceravolo was the only one involved in Perez’s murder.

Ceravolo died in 2013, and Gulluni acknowledged that the inability to prosecute him is a “painful fact.” He said, “Sometimes, justice is swift. An assailant is identified and taken into custody within hours or days. In other cases, justice is delayed, and the truth takes — even decades — to reveal itself.”

Akers was a detective at the time of the murder and responded to the call, along with then-cadet Trent Duda, who is now a captain in charge of the city’s homicide unit.

“On behalf of myself and the Springfield Police Department. I want to say that I’m truly sorry. I’m sorry for the loss that you suffered all those years ago and I’m sorry for how long it’s taken to bring the answers to you and bring the peace that you deserve,” Akers said to Perez’s family, who was at the press conference about the development.

“In law enforcement we know that we can not undo the past, but we also know that we can honor it by never giving up,” Akers said. “I remember that day well. I remember being one of the first detectives to respond to the call.” He spoke about the importance of collecting all possible evidence, even when technology is not yet available to use that evidence.

Akers said, “Justice should never depend on a person’s zip code, their income or the neighborhood they called home. Every victim deserves to be remembered, every family deserves answers, and every community deserves the same commitment to justice.”

Later, Akers said that it stays with officers when a case remains unsolved. “It means something to us personally. It’s like a feather in your cap when you can say, ‘Hey, I solved this.’ It makes you feel good, it’s a good feeling,” he said. “But when you run into a brick wall and there’s really nowhere else to go … you think about it before you go to sleep, you think about it when you wake up.”

José Reyes, Perez’s nephew, spoke on behalf of the family. “Today, my family closes a chapter that has been open for 31 years. During all this time we’ve lived with questions, pain, uncertainty. We never stopped remembering our dear Celestina,” Perez said. “Knowing the truth allows us to take a final step toward justice and begin to find a little peace.”