Man accused of disguising himself as UPS driver to kill former neighbour

Robert Bonang and Laurie Melchionda had not been neighbours for six years

Robert Bonang in police custody ((Braintree Police Department))

A Massachusetts man has been accused of murdering his former neighbour while disguised as a UPS delivery driver.

Robert Bonang, from Braintree, Massachusetts, was arrested on Wednesday, after allegedly murdering his former neighbour, Laurie Melchionda, earlier that day.

Mr Bonang, disguised as a UPS delivery driver, walked up to Ms Melchionda’s house with a gun hidden inside a brown box, according to the Braintree Police Department.

The 61-year-old frantically rang the doorbell, and when Ms Melchionda answered, shot her in the head and back a total of seven times, according to the Daily Mail.

Ms Melchionda, a 59-year-old director of health services for the Weston Public Schools, as well as a school nurse, was rushed to a local hospital, where she died later that day.

A local babysitter, who witnessed the incident, told Norfolk assistant district attorney Greg Connor that Mr Bonang walked up to Ms Melchionda’s residence wearing a brown jacket, a face mask, and carrying a brown box.

He was wearing a brown, UPS-style shirt in his booking photo, provided by the Braintree Police Department, and the box reportedly had a UPS sticker on it.

Mr Bonang, who was waiting outside Ms Melchionda’s house, waved at officers when he saw them approaching, according to the outlet.

The former neighbours had had issues in the past, but Mr Bonang had not lived across the street from Ms Melchionda for six years, according to CBS News.

Michael Morrissey, the Norfolk district attorney, said: “She’s well known in town. She’s been active in town in the board of health. She’s a well-respected nurse.

“She’s extremely well-thought of in town.”