Bristol, Rhode Island Man Sentenced To 40 Years For Murdering His Grandmother
By Tiffany Williams –
On Wednesday at the Providence County Superior Court in Providence, Rhode Island, Superior Court Justice Stephen P. Nugent sentenced Raymond Paiva IV, 30, formerly of Bristol, Rhode Island to 60 years, with 40 years to serve at the ACI, and a 20-year suspended sentence with 60 years of probation.
Paiva pleaded guilty on September 21, to one count of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, four counts of receiving stolen goods (less than $1,500), two counts of forgery, and one count of obtaining property under false pretenses (less than $1,500).
On February 10, 2017, Paiva killed his grandmother, Eudora Gustafson by asphyxiation, before robbing her in an attempt to get money for drugs.
Paiva, who had done heroin, was at his grandparents’ home on Sowams Drive in Bristol and wanted money to purchase additional heroin. After his grandfather left the house to go to work at 3:15 p.m., Paiva attacked his grandmother, smothering her with a pillow, and covering her head with a trash bag with the drawstring drawn tightly around her neck in an attempt to gain access to the keys to her car.
Paiva then took his grandmother’s rings, additional jewelry from a bedroom safe, half-dollar coins, and her checkbook, before fleeing in her car. He attempted to cash a check from his grandmother’s checkbook at a nearby Citizen’s bank but was unsuccessful.
At approximately 7:00 p.m., Paiva pawned his grandmother’s jewelry at a pawn shop in North Providence, and then bought heroin at a location in Providence.
Paiva was apprehended by the Providence Police Department shortly thereafter.
DNA evidence collected from the victim and the trash bag matched Paiva’s DNA.
Selena Martinez, Paiva’s co-defendant was charged with one count of murder, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in a dwelling, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, four counts of receiving stolen goods (less than $1,500), one count of forgery, and one count of obtaining property under false pretenses (less than $1,500). Her case remains pending in Providence County Superior Court.
