Prosecution: Man Killed Lover to Keep Gay Relationship A Secret

A Brockton, Massachusetts, man has allegedly admitted that he was in a sexual relationship with a male murder victim he's been accused of killing in a Nov. 12 shooting, reports local newspaper the Enterprise.

21-year-old Kian Willis reportedly told police that he was in a relationship with Patrick Sequeira-Ferreira, 27, and that he was afraid he would be fired from his job at the Office of Community Corrections, which is part of Massachusetts' probation department. Their relationship violated agency rules, reported Boston NBC affiliate Channel 10.

The prosecutor, Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Kenny, cited evidence in the form of text messages in which Willis told Sequeira-Ferreira he had obtained an Uber ride for him, the Enterprise article said. The city's ShotSpotter system, which identifies and locates gunshot sounds, then picked up on three rounds being fired, according to the prosecution.

Sequeira-Ferreira died after being shot in the head, the NBC story reported.

The theory offered by Kenny was that Willis slew Sequeira-Ferreira to keep their romance a secret. "It appears that no one in the defendant's family may have been aware that he was homosexual and bisexual," she told the court. "It appears that the defendant before you may have been concerned that the victim was going to tell people about their relationship."