BOSTON, May 7, 2012—A Revere man was ordered held without bail today after being formally charged with the homicide of 50-year-old John Barrientos in East Boston, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

CRISTIAN SANTA (D.O.B. 10/10/91) was arraigned this morning in East Boston District Court on a single count of murder for Barrientos’ slaying in the early morning hours of May 4. Investigators believe Barrientos was killed in the basement of his Chelsea Street apartment building sometime around 5:00 a.m., then dragged outside to an alleyway, where his remains were found about an hour later, Conley said.

“Veteran investigators said this was among the grisliest crime scenes they’d ever encountered,” Conley said.

Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight of Conley’s Homicide Unit told District Court Judge Roberto Ronquillo, Jr., that Boston Police were dispatched to an alleyway near 200 Chelsea Street on Friday morning for a report of an apparent heart attack. When they arrived, however, they found a bloody scene that instead suggested foul play – a determination backed up by an autopsy this weekend that revealed multiple stab wounds and fatal blunt force trauma.

Evidence at the scene led detectives to the boiler room of Barrientos’ Chelsea Street building, Knight said, where investigators believe Barrientos was slain. Knight said the assailant then attempted to remove the body from the basement by dragging it upstairs, then abandoned that effort.

While Santa’s motive remains under investigation, Knight said he and Barrientos were drinking together in the late night hours of May 3 and early morning of May 4. Witnesses told authorities that they later heard screams and “thudding” sounds at about 5:00 a.m. At about 6:00, Knight told the court, Santa made his way home to his residence in Revere.

Investigation at the scene developed “fruitful” leads, Knight said, citing the value of forensic evidence, footwear impressions, and witness statements assembled by homicide detectives.

“Particularly telling were two bloody fingerprints that were analyzed and individualized to the defendant, linking him to the murder,” Knight said. Based on that evidence, prosecutors approved Santa’s arrest for murder and police took him into custody on Saturday night.

Michael Schultz is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Santa is represented by attorney L. Manuel Macias. He will return to court on July 27.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.