Lynn murder sparked by parking spat

LYNN – A Peabody mechanic with Lynn roots has died from injuries sustained during an alleged Oct. 9 beating on Bennett Street.Police are hunting for the alleged killer.Chad McDonald, 34, 4 Cashman Road, Peabody, died Wednesday at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, according to police.His wife, Michelle, said McDonald was assaulted following a dispute over a parking space at Jim Appleyard Bonded Storage, a warehouse at the corner of Bennett and Commercial streets where he worked moving furniture and other possessions from home evictions.”He was beaten to death over a parking space,” Michelle McDonald said Thursday. “The people who did this left him there to die.”A murder warrant has been issued for Fernando Aristy, 24, of Chelsea, according to Police Lt. William Sharpe.”The injuries were sustained as the result of a felonious assault. The deceased provided officers with an on-scene statement before he was transported to Mass. General Hospital where his conditioned worsened,” Sharpe said.McDonald, a father of two, grew up in the Highlands and formerly ran a mechanical repair shop on Fayette Street. He was initially taken to the Salem Hospital emergency room and later flown by helicopter to Boston.”Chad gave a statement to the police before the ambulance came,” Michelle McDonald said. “He told them two or three guys approached him and had beaten him. Chad knew this one particular kid because he hung around one of the businesses down on Bennett Street. They had had words about the parking space where Chad needed to park the truck at Appleyard’s. There was a big no-parking sign there, but this kid would leave his car there anyway, blocking the bay doors. Chad kept telling him not to park there. It was an ongoing problem.”The assault occurred at approximately 3 a.m. but the victim was not discovered until 2:30 p.m., according to Michelle McDonald. “He lay there all night, dying,” she said, describing her husband as slightly built, at 155 pounds. “He was not a fighter at all.”The McDonald Family Fund has been established at Eastern Bank for anyone who would like to contribute because the victim had no life insurance, according to Michelle McDonald.Friends and relatives created a memorial outside Appleyard’s with candles and other memorabilia. Funeral arrangements were being made with the Solimine Funeral Home.”If people want to, they can give to the fund in lieu of flowers,” said Michelle McDonald, adding that a Nov. 6 benefit event has been scheduled at the Lynnway Sports Center at 8 p.m.”Chad and I used to hang around there,” she said. “He had been there the day before to eat lunch.”Chad McDonald lived in Peabody with his wife and two sons, ages 11 and 15, but the couple has roots in Lynn: Michelle McDonald’s grandparents owned Rolly’s restaurant in Wyoma Square, the same section of the city where her parents run Newhall’s Liquors. Her aunt, Jane Teal, was a former Ward 1 city councilor.”It’s sad,” said the widow who was raised near Sluice Pond. “Chad was the best husband, a great father and a good guy to everyone. Our son, Chad Jr., will be 12 on Friday.”Aristy was originally wanted for attempted murder but the charge was upgraded to murder when McDonald was pronounced dead.