By Phil Demers, MassLive

Hours after a 32-year-old woman from Western Massachusetts fatally overdosed in Rhode Island on Monday, her father and brother were arrested in what police are calling a kidnapping and attack on her suspected heroin hookup.

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Michael and Ralph Lombardi (right) seen here in an undated Facebook photo.

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Police arrived on Baldwin Hill Road in the small Berkshire County town of Egremont around 4:15 p.m. to find the late woman's father allegedly choking and striking a struggling man while his son helped hold down his arms.



Both father and son were "screaming different versions of 'you killed my [expletive] daughter' and 'you killed my [expletive] sister,'" according to a report by Egremont Police Officer Hans Carlson, obtained Friday by MassLive.

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An aerial view of Baldwin Hill Road in Egremont. Photo credit: Google Maps

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According to the police report, Ralph Lombardi and Michael, his son, ages 58 and 26, respectively, of Sheffield, began the day Monday in Rhode Island conferring with police regarding the death of their loved one, Christine Lombardi, Ralph's daughter and Michael's sister.

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Christine Lombardi, seen here in an undated Facebook photo.

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During the trip, the pair retrieved numerous personal items of Christine's, including her cell phone.



Text messages on the phone "from prior to and after her death," the Lombardis concluded, implicated an addict friend from the Berkshires in "being involved with obtaining the heroin" which "eventually led to Christine's death," according to the report.

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The Lombardis showed Carlson samples of these messages at the scene of the attack in Egremont, after he and other officers broke up the fight, which caused the third man "injuries to the face, nose, eyes and head."



"I did observe what appeared to be a text from (the implicated party) to Christine asking her if she was OK," Carlson notes.

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Michael and Christine Lombardi, seen here in an undated Facebook photo.

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Lombardis told police they lured the third man into their van by offering to loan him money to square up a several-thousand-dollar debt "he allegedly owed to a drug dealer."



"I began to suspect that both Michael and Ralph may have had nefarious motives when neither of them could provide an appropriate response to my question of why they had (the man) in their van if they suspected he was involved in Christine's untimely death," Carlson observes. "I was extremely suspicious (because) both Ralph and Michael stated that they just wanted to talk to (the man) and that they had no intent to harm him."

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The Lombardis told Carlson they suspected the man of putting Christine in touch with the Rhode Island dealer who sold her the heroin she overdosed on, and only sought to obtain the name of that dealer from him. The man lives in Newport, R.I., but was visiting family in the Berkshires.

According to Carlson, Michael drove the van Egremont to pick up the man, who was under the impression that "it would just be he and Michael meeting up."

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Events allegedly escalated quickly when the man entered the van holding an open knife, which he told police he was using to slice and eat an apple. After breaking up the fight, Carlson was able to locate the apple nearby.



"(All three men) agreed that the violence started virtually immediately the moment (the man) got into the van and closed the door," Carlson said. "Around that time, (the man) stated he began getting punched in the face while he heard screams that they were 'going to (expletive) bury' him."



Father and son would tell police the man threatened them with the knife, but Carlson makes no mention of evidence of this and notes the man has no violence in his background.

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The man was able to escape the slow-moving van on Baldwin Hill Road, whereupon both Lombardis allegedly followed him out and continued the attack, which residents of the street observed and reported to police, who intervened in a quick response.



"(The man) believed that he would have been taken somewhere, beaten badly 'or worse' if he had not escaped the van when he did."

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Michael and Ralph Lombardi seen here in an undated Facebook photo.

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Both were arrested and later released on $500 bail. The third man faces no charges, as yet.



The Lombardis appeared in Southern Berkshire District Court on Thursday.



Ralph Lombardi faces charges of assault and battery, strangulation and kidnapping.



Michael Lombardi faces charges of two counts kidnapping and one count assault and battery.

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In a Facebook post Friday, Michael Lombardi offered thanks to friends and family for the "love," "support" and "kind words" the family has received in the wake of Christine's tragic death.

"Christine carried that beam of light in her everywhere she went and touched a lot of people's lives in a positive way, and that's what we have to remember, for now in this difficult time to find words," the post read.

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Christine Lombardi, seen here in an undated Facebook photo.

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Her wake was held Friday evening at Finnerty & Stevens funeral home in Great Barrington.

There has been an outpouring of sorrow and support on Facebook from friends and family concerning Christine's death.

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Christine was a student at both Mount Everett and Monument Mountain high schools. She went on to study art and graphic design at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.

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"She leaves behind many aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and friends and will be missed dearly," her obituary states. "She would want nothing more than for everyone to shine their love and light upon one another always and forever and never give up and lose sight of what's most important."

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Christine and Michael Lombardi, seen here in an undated Facebook photo.