New Bedford Woman Deemed Incompetent to Stand Trial for Murder

FALL RIVER (1420 WBSM) — A New Bedford woman charged with the March 2022 murder of a city man has been deemed incompetent to stand trial at this time and has been civilly committed.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said Chelsea Pimentel, 34, was committed by Judge Raffi Yessayan to the Worcester State Hospital for a period of six months, after which her mental status will be re-evaluated.

Pimentel was arrested in late March in connection with the murder of Kevin Stoughton, 62, of New Bedford. She faces charges of murder, assault and battery on a household member, and assault and battery.

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According to the D.A.’s Office, Pimentel had been staying with Stoughton for some time at his apartment on North Sixth Street in New Bedford. On March 28, 2022 at around 1 p.m., Fairhaven Police contacted New Bedford Police requesting a wellness check at that address.

Fairhaven Police had taken a report from Pimentel’s parents in which they stated Pimentel had “contacted her mother that morning to say a man had died in her presence at that address,” the D.A.’s Office stated.

Police arrived to find Stoughton deceased. It was later determined he had died as the result of a homicide, and Pimentel was arrested and charged with his murder.

A competency hearing was held in Fall River Superior Court on November 4, and on November 15, Judge Yessayan found Pimentel not competent to stand trial at this time. She will spend six months at Worcester State Hospital before being re-evaluated, at which time she will either be determined competent to stand trial, or will be civilly committed for one full year.

The D.A’s Office said if she is committed for the full year, “her case will be called back into court yearly to determine if there has been any change in her competency status.”