Hampden County DA’s Office

December 13, 2021 -Springfield- Today, Franklin Conza was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after a Hampden County Superior Court Jury found him guilty of, First Degree Murder, in the 2018 stabbing death of Mr. Carlos Santos, this past Friday.

On Friday, May 18, 2018, the Ludlow Police Department responded to the Ludlow Central Bakery located at 270 East Street, for a reported stabbing. When officers arrived they found the victim, Mr. Carlos Santos suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was rushed to Baystate Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased as a result of his injuries.

Franklin Conza remained at the scene when officers arrived and was taken into custody, but not before violently fighting with officers.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni stated, ““The quick response and excellent investigation by both the Ludlow Police Department and Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to my office led to a successful prosecution, directed by Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom. I would like to thank and commend ADA Sandstrom for her outstanding effort and skillful work in securing this guilty verdict and justice for Mr. Santos’s family, and friends.”

Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom, along with, appellate counsel ADA Travis Lynch, successfully represented the Commonwealth in this case.

This information is courtesy of the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.

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Chief Daniel Valadas reports that the Ludlow Police Department responded to a fatal motorcycle crash on Miller Street Saturday night.

On Saturday, April 10, at approximately 10:20 p.m., Ludlow Police responded to Miller Street by Maria’s Way for numerous reports of a single motorcycle crash, with the motorcycle on fire.

Upon their arrival, Ludlow Police observed that the motorcycle had collided with a telephone pole and was engulfed in flames. Ludlow Police immediately began to extinguish the fire while they assisted the operator.

“I would like to commend all responding officers for their efforts at the scene of the crash, especially the off-duty Pelham Police Officer who assisted us,” Chief Valadas said. “The first responding officers performed exemplary service by desperately trying to aid the operator. This was an extremely delicate situation as our officers had the added danger of working around potentially live wires and they did a great job in their response efforts.”

Ludlow Fire Department paramedics arrived on scene and lifesaving measures were initiated. The motorcycle operator was pronounced dead at the scene.

Miller Street was closed during the incident. The road has since been reopened.

Ludlow Police remained on-scene until 8:30 a.m. this morning while Eversource worked to repair the damaged pole.

The Massachusetts State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit, State Police Detective Unit and State Police Crime Scene Unit also responded to the scene.

At this time, the incident remains under investigation by the Ludlow Police Department, Massachusetts State Police and Hampden County District Attorney’s Office.

All further inquiries about this incident should be referred to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office.

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