Ware Man Pleads Guilty to 2011 Murder of 84-Year-Old Man

Thursday, February 21, 2019
GoLocalWorcester News Team

A Ware man was sentenced to as much as 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing an 84-year-old man while he was sleeping in his Hardwick home, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.

Jason Lopez, 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the stabbing death of Joseph Cernauskas on September 6, 2011.

He also pleaded guilty to arson, home invasion, armed burglary, larceny from a building and two counts of larceny of a motor vehicle.

His accomplice, Jonathan Hart, 28, of Barre, pleaded guilty to the identical charges last month and was given the same sentence.

The Investigation

After killing Cernauskas, the two men removed the body and set fire to the home, according to Assistant District Attorney Christopher P. Hodgens.

The investigation began when Hardwick firefighters did not find Cernauskas at home. His body was found two weeks later in a field in Barre. Hart and Lopez stole two vehicles, and the defendants were eventually apprehended in Florida. 

During the investigation, Hart told detectives that Mr. Cernauskas had molested him for several years when he was a young boy.