Boston man charged in Charles River attack
BOSTON, June 6, 2024 –A repeat violent offender was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court Central Division last week on one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon stemming from a May 23 attack near the Charles River, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
CHARLES SELPH, 62, of Boston, was arraigned on May 28 and ordered held on $1,000 bail by Judge James Coffey and also ordered to stay away from the victim and the location of the incident. Selph will return to court June 21 for a pre-trial hearing.
At about 10:15 pm on May 23, Massachusetts State Police troopers responded to a call for a person covered in blood on Storrow Drive under the Longfellow Bridge. Troopers found a 54-year-old man bleeding from several lacerations on the top of his head. The victim told police he had been attacked while sleeping under the bridge and had run onto Storrow Drive, where motorists stopped and assisted him. The victim provided troopers a description of his attacker.
Boston EMS transported the victim to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment.
A motorist’s cell phone video provided to troopers showed the victim pointing to a man under the Longfellow Bridge. The man appears to be holding a long object in his hand. Troopers also obtained video from the Charles/MGH MBTA station showing a similarly-clothed man holding a long metal object just prior to the reported time of the attack. A trooper recognized the man in the video as Charles Selph.
Troopers conducted a canvass of the scene and found in a grassy area near the Longfellow Bridge a machete matching the one held by the man in the video. Troopers also found a black backpack with a medical/hospital bracelet with Selph’s name and a prescription medication bottle with Selph’s name.
Troopers sought a warrant for Selph and he was arrested in Boston on May 27.
Selph has an extensive history of guilty convictions in Massachusetts, including charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer, failure to register as a sex offender, sexual assault and rape. He was sentenced to nine months in the House of Correction in May 2023 for assault and battery.
“I am extremely grateful for the motorists who stopped and helped this victim, and for the victim’s assistance in giving troopers a solid description of his attacker. This assistance, along with surveillance video and excellent investigative work, led to a quick arrest in this brutal attack,” Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications