BELCHERTOWN — A Belchertown man accused of shooting and killing his wife in their home on Daniel Shays Highway Friday night was held without bail at his arraignment in Eastern Hampshire District Court Monday morning.
Mark Opper, 56, was arrested on charges of murder and assault and battery on a family or household member after police found his wife, Diane Opper, dead on the floor of their home with what appeared to be “multiple gunshot wounds to her torso,” according to court documents. The court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
A statement of facts compiled by Belchertown and Massachusetts State Police states that Opper called 911 to report that he had “killed [his] wife” Friday evening.
“During the [911] call, Mark Opper says (among other things) ‘I just sh — my gun went off. I killed my wife,” the report states. “Red [and] brown stains, believed to be blood were observed on Mark’s hands and jeans [when he was detained]. However, no injuries or sources of bleeding were observed on Mark.”
Belchertown Police Officers Draine Colon-Rivera, Cameron Woodward and Michael Jablonski responded to Opper’s home at Summer Hill Estates, or 111 Daniel Shays Highway at approximately 5:10 p.m. There, the statement of facts alleges, the officers found Diane Opper on the floor with “what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds to her torso,” prompting Woodward to begin performing life-saving measures on the woman.
When Belchertown Detective Sgt. Robert Mann entered the residence, he saw a “dark-colored pistol with the magazine removed” and an “unfired bullet next to it” on the dining room table, he wrote in the statement of facts.
“I observed several bullet casings on the ground in the living room,” he wrote. “These casings were approximately 10 feet from where Diane was found … Given the number of gunshot wounds Diane sustained and their concentration around her torso and arms, investigators believe Mark Opper intentionally shot his wife with the intent to murder her.”
Judge Bruce Melikian of Eastern Hampshire District Court ruled that Opper will be held without bail until a bindover hearing, which is scheduled for April 27 at Eastern Hampshire District Court.
