Man Cops To Dumping Western Mass Woman's Body After She OD'd In His Car: DA

A 59-year-old Western Massachusetts man admitted to leaving a woman's body on the side of a Westford road in 2019 after she overdosed in his car, authorities announced on Monday, May 8. He will spend the next seven to eight years behind bars.

Westford police investigated after a dog walker found the body of Melissa Mestre left on the side of Providence Road in 2019. The man who dumped her there admitted to it in court last week, officials said.
Photo Credit: *Westford Police Department*

Josh Lanier

05/08/2023 4:56 p.m.

Daniel Perras, of Easthampton, pled guilty to destruction of evidence and improper disposal of a body after he left Melissa Mestre in Westford and got rid of her things to avoid being any link to her death, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said.

Perras picked up Mestre on Jan. 31, 2019, from her home in Springfield and drove to Haverhill to buy heroin, the prosecutor said. On their way back, he noticed that Mestre had overdosed on the drug and died in his passenger seat.

Perras panicked, left the highway, and found a secluded spot in Westford along Providence Road to dump Mestre's corpse. He then sped to Erving and threw her cell phone and purse from a bridge on Route 2, authorities said.

A dog walker found Mestre's body three days later.

Perras pled guilty last week in Middlesex Superior Court, and a judge sentenced him to between seven and eight years in prison, the prosecutor said. He will also serve three years of probation after he is released.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Hampshire Franklin and receive free news updates.