Dean Kapsalis convicted in fatal Belmont road rage attack motivated by race
BELMONT – A jury convicted a Hudson man in a deadly road rage attack that killed another man in 2021.
Dean Kapsalis has been found guilty of a racially motivated murder.
Investigators said Henry Tapia had been in an argument with Kapsalis moments earlier. Both men got out of their vehicles, and Kapsalis allegedly then got back in his.
Witnesses told police they heard Kapsalis yell a racial slur at Tapia, a Black man, before getting back in his truck and allegedly running him over.
"We should make no mistake - this was a racially motivated, senseless tragedy. What is significant about today's verdict is that in Middlesex County when we have violent incidents hate and bigotry, those will not be seen as just background facts," Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. "We will charge those separately, prosecute that charge separately, and seek accountability for that piece of what happened."
Ryan said Kapsalis will be sentenced at a later date and faces the possibility of life in prison.