A Lake Street duplex that once blended into the neighborhood is now tied to one of Weymouth’s most chilling recent crimes. On Monday, 46-year-old Kelly Shaw of Weymouth was sentenced to 15 to 17 years in state prison after admitting she killed her housemate, 56-year-old Christine Mello, and then tapped into Mello’s finances in the weeks surrounding her death. The sentence will be followed by three years of probation.
Plea and sentence
Shaw entered a guilty plea in Norfolk Superior Court on April 16, 2026, to voluntary manslaughter, larceny of a motor vehicle, larceny over $1,200 and intimidation, according to The Patriot Ledger. Court filings detailed by Boston.com say the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner documented 17 sharp and blunt-force wounds on Mello’s body, and toxicology tests detected cocaine.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the original murder charge Shaw had faced, a significant step down in potential exposure that still leaves her serving well over a decade behind bars.
Prosecutors' account and evidence
Prosecutors say Mello was found dead in the basement of the Lake Street home on April 1, 2024. In the weeks that followed, investigators pulled surveillance footage and banking records that they say tied Shaw and an associate, John “Jack” Harper, to a series of suspicious transactions involving Mello’s money.
Authorities allege Shaw and Harper used Mello’s debit card, deposited checks from Mello’s mother’s estate into other accounts, and that Harper sold Mello’s car, as reported by CBS Boston. When officers entered the Lake Street duplex, court paperwork states they found a safe under a desk sitting open and cash missing.
Timeline and filings
Court records cited by Boston.com show Shaw moved into Mello’s home in January 2024. Investigators later secured indictments on larceny and intimidation charges in June 2024 and on the fatality in August 2024.
Those filings also say Shaw told at least one acquaintance that she and Mello had argued and that Mello allegedly came at her with a knife. Shaw, according to the documents, said she struck back and described using a teapot during the confrontation. Defense attorney Neil Madden did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to reporting.
Neighbors and what's next
Neighbors told reporters the case deeply rattled the Lake Street block when word of the investigation first surfaced in April 2024, an impact chronicled in coverage of how it left the block shaken. The quiet residential stretch suddenly found itself at the center of a homicide probe layered with financial-crime allegations.
John “Jack” Harper remains charged on multiple larceny counts but has not been charged with homicide. He is scheduled to return to court on May 13, according to WATD 95.9 FM.
