Mashpee Man Pleads Guilty To Two Counts Motor Vehicle Manslaughter

Michael Catarius, the 24-year-old Mashpee man on trial for two counts of manslaughter by a motor vehicle, pled guilty this afternoon on the second day of what was expected to be a four-day trial at Barnstable Superior Court.

Judge Gary Nickerson sentenced him to seven to ten years at MCI-Cedar Junction, a maximum security state prison. Mr. Catarius also pled guilty to the lesser charge of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of ten days at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility.

Mr. Catarius must also give a sample of his DNA and must pay a $90 victim/witness fee.

His license was suspended for life.

The families of the two victims, Michael Warren, 26, of Falmouth and Edward Kipp, 49, of Rhode Island, were emotional after the verdict.

For more details, see next Tuesday's edition of The Falmouth Enterprise.