BELCHERTOWN — Mark Opper, the 56-year-old Belchertown man accused of shooting and killing his wife inside their home in March, was held without the right to bail at his Hampshire Superior Court arraignment Wednesday afternoon.
Opper, 56, was arrested on charges of murder and assault and battery on a family or household member on March 27 after police found his wife, Diane Opper, dead on the floor of their home at Summer Hill Estates, 111 Daniel Shays Highway, with what appeared to be “multiple gunshot wounds to her torso,” according to court documents.
The Eastern Hampshire District Court entered a plea of not guilty on Opper’s behalf at his March 30 arraignment.
The commonwealth presented the case to a Hampshire County grand jury in May, which returned an indictment and moved the matter to Superior Court.
A statement of facts compiled by Belchertown and Massachusetts State Police states that Opper called 911 to report that he had “killed [his] wife.”
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.”
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Suhl and Assistant District Attorney Erin Aiello, chief of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, are representing the commonwealth. Opper is represented by attorney Jonah Goldsmith. The arraignment was heard before Superior Court Judge Michael K. Callan.
The case is next scheduled to be in court on July 15 for a motion hearing and Nov. 9 for a pretrial hearing.
