Joshua Shea, 31, address unknown

NASHUA — Murder suspect Joshua E. Shea, who is accused of stabbing to death a 32-year-old man in a third-floor hallway of a Marshall Street apartment building early Tuesday morning, reached an agreement Wednesday with prosecutors regarding bail, and therefore waived formal arraignment on the single charge he faces.

The charge — second-degree murder — accuses Shea, 31, of “recklessly causing the death” of Evangelos Ioannou, 32, “by repeatedly stabbing and/or slicing (Ioannou) with a knife,” according to Attorney General John Formella and Nashua police Chief Kevin Rourke.

Shea, who has a handful of cases on his criminal record, two of which are currently ongoing in Nashua district court, was taken into custody sometime Tuesday by officers who, along with detectives, had been investigating the incident since they were called to 4 Marshall St. around 1:20 a.m.

Numerous residents who had placed 911 calls reporting a stabbing directed arriving officers to the third floor, where they found a man, later identified as Ioannou, lying in a hallway in a pool of blood, according to reports.

Medical personnel administered emergency treatment and rushed Ioannou to the nearby Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, but he was pronounced deceased a short time after arrival.

(Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS) A Nashua police cruiser is parked out front of the apartment building at 4 Marshall St. where an early morning stabbing claimed the life of a Nashua man.

As part of the agreement Shea and his public defender, Attorney Kara Simard, reached with prosecutors Wednesday, Shea reserves the right to request a bail hearing, according to Senior Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Agati, who was present in court in case Shea’s arraignment went forward.

Agati said the affidavit investigators filed in court has been sealed for the time being as the investigation continues. He said the document would likely be unsealed upon request once investigators are confident they have interviewed or received statements from everyone they needed to speak with.

The circumstances that led up to the stabbing, and other elements of the case, are addressed in the affidavit.

As for Shea’s ongoing Nashua district court cases, he is charged in the first one, filed Dec. 22, 2021, with one count each of violation of a protective order and violating a criminal bail protective order, for allegedly coming within 300 feet of a female known to him in violation of the order that had been issued one day earlier.

The other case, filed Jan. 4, accuses Shea, on Dec. 30, of again coming within 300 feet of the woman, which led to the two order-violation charges.

Both cases are currently scheduled for a plea hearing on July 5 in Hillsborough County Superior Court South.

On Wednesday, two young women who showed up in court anticipating Shea’s arraignment were either relatives or friends of Ioannou. When it became clear that the proceeding would not be held, they met in a conference room with a state victim advocate.

Indications are that Ioannou lived in one of the apartments at 4 Marshall St., according to Agati. He told media representatives that it is investigators’ belief that Ioannou was “residing in that apartment,” referring to the location where Ioannou was found.

The building is one of four recently-constructed, four-story apartment buildings built in a cluster on the former Beebe Rubber company property at the corner of Marshall and East Hollis streets.

Among the residents and visitors who gathered in small groups to discuss the incident or watch police conducting their investigation was Stephanie Fielding, who told WMUR-TV that she was Ioannou’s sister.

She said he struggled with addiction, but had been working hard toward recovery.

“He had the biggest heart in the world, and he just loved everybody,” Fielding told WMUR. “He would give you the shirt off his back if he could.”

Chief state medical Examiner Dr. Jennie V. Duval, who conducted an autopsy on Ioannou’s body, determined that the cause of his death was “multiple stab and incised wounds,” and the manner of death is homicide.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.