What was thought a tragic death by fire in Roxbury may actually be a homicide. Boston Fire Department officials said the body of a man found in a burnt-out Winthrop Street house was stabbed multiple times. The investigation has been turned over to police.

Boston Police put out a statement saying the victim, 69-year-old Santo Alcadio of Bernadel, PA, had been stabbed multiple times. Police will investigate Alcadio’s death while fire officials continue to work on the cause of the fire.

Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald told The Boston Globe that the best witnesses would be the two dozen or more residents displaced by the fire.


“They are the best eyewitnesses to what happened but to interview them you have to find them,’’ MacDonald said to the Globe. “And their world has been turned upside down.’’

Firefighters battled the duplex fire for hours on Friday night, eventually calling five alarms before they got the blaze under control.

Editor’s note: The above photograph was previously incorrectly attributed to Boston Fire Department. The photographer’s name is John Cetrino, and credit for the photo has been updated to reflect that.