Western Massachusetts Man Indicted For New Wife's Memorial Day Weekend Murder

Nearly two months after a newlywed was found dead in her Massachusetts home, the husband has been indicted for her murder.

Luis Rosado, 49, was indicted by a grand jury for the May 28 murder of Jillian Tatro, 38, the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. (Tatro’s legal name at the time of her death was Jillian Rosado, but her survivors have requested she be referred to by her maiden name, something several media outlets have honored.)

Loved ones and officials say Tatro was stabbed to death in her second-story apartment in West Adams — less than 50 miles east of Albany, New York — after several attempts to leave her husband. He allegedly had a history of domestic abuse during the couple’s five-month marriage, the Berkshire Eagle reported, as well as a documented history of violence before it.

Rosado had previous convictions stemming from a 2020 domestic violence incident with a party who was not Tatro, according to a 2020 release from the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office. Rosado was accused of “repeatedly” punching and strangling a victim in two separate assaults on June 20 that year in Pittsfield.

Rosado pleaded guilty to several counts of domestic assault and battery, one count of strangulation, larceny and violating a protective order. He was sentenced to one year in prison and subject to 18 months probation.

He met Tatro shortly after his release, according to the Eagle.

Loved ones still aren’t entirely sure how the two ever became involved.

“We’re best friends, and we don’t know,” said the victim's friend, Tara Vallieres. “All of a sudden, he was just there.”

District Attorney Andrea Harrington said the pair had only known one another for a month before marrying in January; the Eagle reported that none of her friends or family were invited to attend the nuptials.

On Feb. 21, Rosado called police to claim that Tatro had struck him in the face multiple times, according to the Eagle. Officers noted a “red mark”  and “three small scratches” on Rosado’s face, resulting in Tatro’s arrest for assault.

On March 11, state troopers then reportedly responded to a domestic incident between Rosado and Tatro at her mother's home, after Rosado claimed his new wife had struck him as they drove down a Cheshire highway — something Tatro denied. She accused Rosado of being on drugs, claiming she hadn't wanted to take him back.

“He wanted to choke her out but did not because he was already on probation for domestic violence,” police stated in their report. In that incident, police claimed they were forced to kick down the door in order to arrest Tatro, who had asked to call her lawyer.

Harrington told the Eagle that prosecutor in the two cases against Tatro “immediately recognized” issues with the charges and questioned whether or not Tatro was the “actual aggressor,” and referred Tatro's cases to the office's Domestic Violence High Risk Team.

“Perpetrators of domestic violence can be very manipulative and very savvy about manipulating legal systems in order to carry on with their abuse,” Harrington stated in a June press conference. “And sometimes that does include seeking criminal charges against the victim.”

The charges against Tatro were still pending at the time of her murder, though her attorney had moved to dismiss one of them on April 20.

On March 14 — three days after she was arrested for allegedly abusing her husband — Tatro obtained a temporary protective order against Rosado, citing Rosado’s claims of assault as part of her ongoing abuse, according to the Eagle.

In a sworn affidavit, Tatro claimed Rosado “lies, terrorizes me and hurts me physically, then has me falsely arrested due to him injuring himself.” She accused Rosado of being “unpredictable,” stating Rosado was “amazing” when he was sober.

“I am in fear for my life at this point; I don’t know who to turn to anymore,” Tatro wrote. “I have a family to protect, as well as myself.”

Friends said Tatro was the primary caregiver for her mother, who has limited mobility, according to the local outlet.

Tatro’s temporary order expired more than one month before her murder, according to the Eagle, after she failed to show up for a hearing. Her family told the Eagle that they believed Rosado had taken her out of town on a vacation that week so the order would expire.

One of Tatro’s close friends, Kristen McLain, told the Eagle that Tatro tried using makeup to cover up a black eye shortly before the murder, and texted McLain that she was in the process of “having him removed” from the apartment.

Tatro’s mother, Linda Tatro, told the Eagle that she saw Rosado allegedly lose his temper on May 27, and watched Rosado lean forward from a chair and scream at her daughter while they were on the couple’s front porch.

“If you ever f-----g leave me, I will f-----g kill you,” Rosado allegedly said.

That day, Tatro called the police to have Rosado removed from the home in the presence of local law enforcement, according to Linda Tatro. He allegedly left in a taxi and headed to Pittsfield — about 15 miles south of the couple’s home.

McLain said she and Tatro then made plans to go camping that weekend of the murder as a way for her to get away from Rosado, according to the Eagle. She said they were discussing the details of their tent before Tatro’s texts suddenly stopped.

Tatro's mother said that her daughter called her around 2:00 a.m. on May 28 and said that Rosado had returned from Pittsfield and was screaming and cursing at her from outside the apartment building. She told her mother she planned to let him in rather than call the police, given that she still had charges pending against her.

Jillian Tatro called her mother back around 2:00 p.m., Linda Tatro told The Eagle, whispering something into the phone. After she hung up and her mom called back, Jillian Tatro never picked up or returned her mother's call.

Instead, she was found dead on the morning of May 29. Police allege that Rosado stabbed her to death some time after that call on May 28, near the door of her apartment.

Rosado was arrested at a Pittsfield residence five days after the discovery of his wife’s body. He pleaded not guilty to one count of murder.

Tatro leaves behind two children from a previous relationship.

“This is just tragic,” said Tatro’s close friend, Tara Vallieres. “Nobody deserves this. We wanted to make sure Jill was supported. She needed a voice.”