Needham Man Admits To Stabbing His Girlfriend To Death

NEEDHAM, MA — A Needham man pleaded guilty Monday to the 2018 murder of his girlfriend Olivia Bergstrom, 20.

Benjamin Walsh, 28, was convicted of second-degree murder, after stabbing Bergstrom to death in the Needham apartment they shared. The two were dating, the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said.

After the stabbing, Walsh drove to a Millis restaurant and attacked his parents while armed with a knife, prosecutors said.

Judge Beverly Cannone sentenced Walsh to life in prison with the right to seek parole after he has served 25 years for the murder, with lesser sentences on the assault charges to be served at the same time.

"The Commonwealth has agreed to reduce the first degree murder charge to second degree murder with the support of the victim’s parents because the plea to second degree murder ensures the safety of the community, avoids the challenges and stresses of a trial, acknowledges the defendant’s brutal acts and the 25-year minimum sentence prior to the possibility of parole is significant and substantial," Cannone said.

District Attorney Michael Morrissey said Assistant District Attorneys Lisa Beatty and Tracey Cusick, working with victim/witness advocates Kristin Collins and Beth Dobrutsky, consulted with Bergstrom's family and the surviving stabbing victims before the decision was made to allow Walsh to plea to second degree.

"This brings its own finality to the proceeding," Morrissey said. "The outcome of a trial is never assured, and appeals procedures in murder cases span many years. I cannot imagine the pain of Olivia’s parents, and my thoughts are very much with them today."

Morrissey said the Needham and Millis Police departments were excellent partners for the Massachusetts State Police homicide detectives working in the district attorney's office in a “complex investigation, involving multiple crime scenes and jurisdictions. Their work was excellent."

The plea came on the morning that jury selection was slated to begin.