New Bedford Murderer Gets Life in Prison for Brutal Stabbing

NEW BEDFORD — A New Bedford man will be spending life in prison after he was convicted last month of first degree murder in the brutal stabbing of a city woman and her dog.

Robert Viveiros, 50, has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole after a jury convicted him on Oct. 29 of slaying Chantel Bruno, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.

Bruno was stabbed 49 times in her back, hands, and body in the January 2018 attack, the culmination of an ongoing dispute between Bruno and Viveiros, her neighbor.

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According to the Chief Medical Examiner, she likely died from blood loss within five to 10 minutes.

Prosecutors said that she did manage to make it from her third story apartment down to the building's front entrance, leaving a trail of blood.

Bruno's dog was also stabbed during the incident, although the dog survived.

Viveiros’ co-defendant, 48-year-old Kenneth Roark of New Bedford, is set to go to trial on January 31, 2022.

“This is a case of the defendant resorting to violence to resolve ongoing problems with a female neighbor. He solicited the co-defendant to break down the door and assault the victim, who was brutally stabbed nearly 50 times," said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn.

"The defendant took matters into his own hands and the result was a brutal and violent murder. There is no place for that in our society. I want to thank the prosecutors and investigators for their efforts in this case, and  the jury for returning a verdict based fairly on the evidence."