Holyoke Man Gets 40 Years for Cold-Blooded Murder

Chief Judge Christina Reiss has sentenced Frank Caraballo, 32, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, to 40 years imprisonment for his conviction in the murder of Melissa Barratt and drug distribution conspiracy charges.

Melissa Barratt’s lifeless body was discovered in a wooded area off East West Road in Dummerston, Vermont on July 29, 2011. Caraballo was charged in federal court with various drug and firearm offenses, including using a firearm during a drug trafficking offense and causing the murder of Melissa Barratt.

According to witness testimony at trial, immediately after Caraballo was released from jail in Hampden County Massachusetts in mid-March 2011 and continuing to July 29, 2011, when he was arrested by Vermont State Police, Caraballo regularly traveled from Holyoke, Massachusetts to southern Vermont with substantial amounts of narcotics and distributed them. Melissa Barratt assisted Caraballo in the sale of some of these drugs.

On July 28, 2011, Caraballo accused Barratt of stealing a significant amount of drugs from his room at the Super 8 motel in Brattleboro. When Barratt did not return the drugs, Caraballo took her to Dummerston and shot her in the head.

A three-week trial beginning in mid-September 2013 resulted in the jury convicting Caraballo on the firearm and drug conspiracy counts. Although the jury found that Caraballo caused the death of Melissa Barratt, they did not find beyond a reasonable doubt that Caraballo discharged the weapon that caused Barratt’s death.

Chief Judge Reiss also sentenced Caraballo to a lifetime of supervised release, which will follow Caraballo’s service of the 40-year term of imprisonment. The United States Attorney commends the exemplary work of the state and federal law enforcement agencies jointly investigating this matter.

The case was jointly investigated by the Vermont State Police, the Southeast Vermont Drug Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The United States Attorney expressed gratitude to the office of Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Kelly Shriver and Deputy State’s Attorney Steven Brown for their assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Van de Graaf and Joseph Perella represented the United States, while Mark Kaplan, Esq. of Burlington and Natasha Sen, Esq. of Brandon represented Caraballo.