Fatal stabbing in Allston is Boston’s first homicide of 2013

By Travis Andersen and Lauren Dezenski, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent

A 21-year-old man was fatally stabbed in Allston early Tuesday as a house party spiraled out of control, authorities and a witness said. The stabbing was the city’s first homicide of 2013.

Police arrested a suspect, Brian MacDonald, 24, of Allston, who was charged with murder in the fatal stabbing at 48 Pratt St., which occurred just before 2:45 a.m., according to police and prosecutors. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday in Brighton District Court.

Boston police Officer James Kenneally, a department spokesman, said he had no information on what touched off the stabbing. MacDonald was arrested later in the day, but Kenneally did not say when or where.

The stabbing victim, whom police did not identify, was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

A neighbor, Alex Breski, 21, said he was at the house on Monday night for a New Year’s Eve party and left shortly before the stabbing.

He said he returned when he heard screaming and saw the victim, who he said he knew as a tenant of the house named Tony, lying in the snow and bleeding heavily from several wounds.

“His friends got their hands on the wounds,” he said. “There’s blood all over the snow ... I was standing there the whole time, he wasn’t moving.”

He said about 30 people exited the house and began running in different directions, and a dispute over unwanted guests at the party may have preceded the stabbing.

“It was crazy,” he said of the scene.

When police arrived, Breski said, officers ordered partygoers back inside so that officers could take witness statements.

He said the victim lived in the house and was interested in music production.

Breski said there are many house parties on the street, which has a heavy student population.

“This whole street’s partyville,” he said. “You literally don’t have to live in this neighborhood. You can walk down the street, and you can literally walk into people’s houses and go to parties.”

Another neighbor, Rashid Turner, 37, echoed Breski’s comments about the frequent parties in the area.

“I knew they would party even harder on New Years,” he said.

Early Tuesday afternoon, police had sealed off the front entrance of 48 Pratt, a 2-and-a-half-story tan home, with yellow crime scene tape. Three cars were parked in the driveway, and police had blocked off much of the street.

City assessing records indicate that a Georgetown couple owns the home. A call to a number listed for the couple was not returned on Tuesday.

Kenneally said he could not say whether MacDonald and the victim knew each other. Working phone numbers for MacDonald’s relatives could not be located.

A spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said MacDonald does not live at the Pratt Street address where the stabbing occurred.

Last year, Boston had 58 homicides, down from 62 in 2011 and 74 in 2010, according to police.

Another stabbing took place on Boylston Street early Tuesday morning.

A man, believed to be in his early 20s, was stabbed multiple times, after getting into a fight shortly after 1 a.m., Boston police said.

The victim was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess, where he remained hospitalized on Tuesday afternoon, said Kenneally. His condition could not be determined, though Kenneally said he was expected to survive his injuries.

He said it appeared that the victim and the assailant had a verbal altercation before the stabbing, which occurred in the 900 block of Boylston Street. It was not clear if they knew one another, or if the incident was related to any New Year’s revelry, Kenneally said.