Prosecutors allege two brothers beat Abington man to death with propane tanks

ABINGTON Mass. — Two brothers were arraigned in Brockton District Court Tuesday, charged with the beating death of 43-year-old Anthony Leverone in Abington.

43-year-old Suzito Lopes of Quincy, and his 37-year-old brother Antonio, who hid from our courtroom camera, were arraigned separately on murder charges for Leverone’s death.

Last month, police found Leverone’s badly beaten body in the backyard of his home on Plymouth Street.

Police were called there for a wellness check when Leverone didn’t show up for a birthday dinner with his family.

Police say the investigation revealed that on December 26, 2024, Leverone celebrated his birthday with various people at several restaurants and bars, ending the night at the Brockton Café on Main Street.

Prosecutors say video shows Leverone getting into a rented car with Suzito and Antonio Lopes.

They say blood found in that car matches Leverone’s.

Authorities allege Leverone was beaten to death, possibly with propane tanks found near his body.

Prosecutors have not yet revealed a motive or how the victim and the two suspects knew each other.

But the DA says they were all together at the time of the murder.

“There were at the Brockton Café that night,” DA Timothy Cruz told reporters. “He was out celebrating his birthday and you meet people sometimes. It’s still part and parcel of the investigation and we’ll go forward from there.”

Attorneys representing the suspects say the evidence against the Lopes brothers is circumstantial at best.

One attorney even questioned whether Leverone’s death was a murder.

“What evidence is there that this is a murder?” Suzito Lopez’s attorney Brian Kelley said in court. “There is no evidence he premeditated this. At all. There’s no evidence he has a relationship with this person at all.”

Both brothers were ordered held without bail.

They are due back in Brockton District Court on February 14.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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