A 25-year-old Harvard University graduate student was arraigned yesterday morning in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old Cambridge man. Alexander Pring-Wilson pleaded innocent to the murder charge.
Pring-Wilson's arrest on Saturday was an "absolutely horrific surprise," said Stefanie Bell, a fellow student in the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies master's program. Bell last saw Pring-Wilson in their class on Russian press and television Friday.
Pring-Wilson's night out with friends that Friday had an ending that was anything but routine. By the early hours of Saturday morning, Michael Colono was dead after suffering multiple knife wounds to the chest, allegedly inflicted by Pring-Wilson.
The Associated Press reported that Colono and Pring-Wilson were involved in a fight outside of a pizza shop on the corner of Western Avenue and Howard Street. The stabbing took place in a neighborhood southeast of Harvard's campus.
The serious nature of Colono's wounds was apparently not realized by Colono himself -- who was allegedly stabbed shortly before 2 a.m. but was not pronounced dead at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center until 3:15 a.m. -- or by Pring-Wilson. Colono arrived at the hospital via ambulance, after his friends got lost while driving him in search of a hospital and encountered a policeman, who summoned an ambulance.
Defense attorney Jeffery Denner said his client "wasn't aware of the extent of the injuries [suffered by Colono]" at the time of the incident. Police questioned Pring-Wilson upon arriving at the scene of the crime, but initially released him.
Marcos Colono, brother of the stabbing victim, told the Associated Press that his brother was challenged to a fight by Pring-Wilson.
Denner said Pring-Wilson "has a strong self-defense case."
"He was assaulted," Denner said. "He called 911. He was dazed, he had a concussion and was pretty confused."
A story appearing in yesterday's Boston Globe reported that Pring-Wilson's outfit on the evening of the stabbing -- a yellow rainslicker and flip-flops -- may have contributed to the altercation.
Denner told The Dartmouth that his comments about the significance of the outfit were taken out of context.
Because of his apparel, Denner said, "perhaps [Pring-Wilson] didn't look like he belonged in that neighborhood."
Pring-Wilson was "a bit drunk", according to Denner, "It made him a lot more vulnerable." He said his client may have looked "silly" as he "sloshed along the street."
The Harvard Crimson reported that Colono had also been drinking on the night he died.
Pring-Wilson "was the victim, not the perpetrator," Denner said.
"He's not a violent person at all," said Amanda Gibson, a friend of Pring-Wilson's and fellow Harvard graduate student. "He is a wonderful caring loving person with more integrity than anyone else I have ever met," she said.
Colono, who worked in a hotel, is survived by his parents, four siblings, his girlfriend and a three-year-old daughter. Many of his family members turned out for yesterday's arraignment.
