Man pleads guilty to beating his girlfriend to death in Worcester in 2021

A man was sentenced to life in prison for the 2021 murder of his girlfriend in Worcester, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Kyle Curley, 35, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 21 years on Monday, according to the Worcester District Attorney’s Office. Curley was also sentenced to serve 2 to 3 years in state prison concurrently for assault and battery causing serious bodily injury.

On June 29, 2021, Worcester police received a report of a dead body, an officer wrote in a statement of facts filed in court.

The body of Erica Lara, 29, was found with hemorrhaging on the left side of her head inside Hotel Vernon in Worcester after her family filed a missing person report, the DA’s office said. The Hotel Vernon includes rooming house-type accommodations.

Police determined that Curley became angry with and assaulted Lara after accusing her of infidelity, police wrote.

At the time, Curley had a pending criminal case regarding an assault and battery against Lara, police said. There was an open warrant for Curley’s arrest for that assault and battery case.

Curley feared Lara would go to the police due to the severity of her injuries and continued assaulting her “with such violence and over a prolonged period that there was a high likelihood of serious harm or death,” the statement said. Curley did not attempt to aid Lara and ultimately fled to California.

Lara’s autopsy determined she died from a brain bleed caused by blunt force injuries to the head, according to the statement of facts.

In July 2021, Curley was arrested by San Diego police in California after he contacted Worcester police to turn himself in on unrelated warrants, the District Attorney’s Office said. Curley was indicted in March 2023 and arraigned in April 2023.

“We never stop working towards justice for victims and their families, especially in cases that remain unresolved,” Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said in a press release. “We are proud of the work of our prosecution team in bringing some measure of justice to the family.”

Curley was set to stand trial in 2027 for charges on intimidating a witness and destruction of property—Lara’s phone—but the trial was canceled following his sentencing for murder, court documents show.

Curley’s lawyer, Mark Shea, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.

Lara was the mother of two young girls, according to her obituary.

“Erica was known for her huge heart and bubbly personality. Erica was loving, caring, and would give the world to anyone who needed it, even when she didn’t have anything herself to give,” loved ones wrote in the obituary.