Chelsea Man Indicted In Connection With Lowell Double Murder

WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced today that a Chelsea man has been indicted in connection with the August 10 shooting deaths in Lowell of two brothers.

Dara Poum, 28, of Chelsea, has been indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury on charges of first degree murder (2 counts), home invasion, and possession of a firearm without a license. Poum continues to be held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court next on January 16, 2015.

“Five children are spending this holiday season without their fathers,” said District Attorney Ryan. “The men were violently killed while other family members were in adjacent rooms fearing for their own lives. What began as a home invasion and fight ended in two murders.”

According to authorities, Poum allegedly entered an apartment at 105 Andrews Street in Lowell at approximately 2:30 a.m., on August 10 and demanded to see someone who was not in the apartment. During an altercation, Poum allegedly drew a gun and shot dead Keith Callahan, 35, and Joseph Callahan, 29.

While at the apartment, authorities allege that Poum discarded a cigarette, which provided investigators with a DNA profile. That profile was searched in a national database and allegedly matched to the defendant. Poum was arrested on August 20 in Chelsea.

District Attorney Ryan credited several law enforcement agencies with helping with the investigation in this case, including, the detectives and major crimes fugitive units of the Massachusetts State Police, crime labs in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Detective Ian Spencer of the Lincoln Police Department for drawing a suspect sketch, and the efforts of police in Lowell, Chelsea, and Providence, Rhode Island.

These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The prosecutor assigned to the case is Assistant District Attorney Stephen Loughlin. The Victim Witness Advocate is Kathleen Keefe.