When detectives arrived at a Mattapan apartment on Saturday to question Patrick Marcelin about the death of his son, they said, Marcelin answered the door holding a kitchen knife.

Marcelin then began to stab himself, officials said.

After detectives were able to take the knife away, The Brockton Enterprise reported, Marcelin was taken to Boston Medical Center and pronounced dead due to his self-inflicted injuries.

Boston Police and paramedics responded to a call at 9:30 a.m. Thursday that a child was in cardiac arrest at 61 Devon St., where Patrick Marcelin’s current girlfriend lived. His son, 6-year-old Destin Williams-Marcelin, was found dead in the Dorchester apartment. Detectives began to search for Patrick Marcelin a short time later.


Friday, police reported that a family member told detectives Patrick Marcelin planned on harming himself. Detectives say they located him around 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Boston Police, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and Suffolk County prosecutors are investigating the father’s and the boy’s death.