Man ordered held without bail for allegedly killing woman in Stoughton; victim was stabbed 30 times, prosecutor says

Amber Buckner’s body was discovered on the morning of Dec. 13 in Stoughton.Courtesy of Linda Malone

The man who allegedly killed 40-year-old Amber Buckner in Stoughton last month stabbed her approximately 30 times and left a knife handle plunged in her temple before boarding a train to New York City where he was later arrested, prosecutors said during his arraignment Tuesday.

Victor Carter, 39, was ordered held without bail in Stoughton District Court on a murder charge. He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on Feb. 22.

Buckner’s body was discovered on the morning of Dec. 13 in a shed behind a residence where Carter had been living. Police were called to 743 Park St. for a report of an unresponsive person, Assistant District Attorney Carolyn L. Hely said in court.

Buckner “had approximately 30 stab wounds. She had defensive wounds on her hands. And the handle of what was later determined to be a four-inch tactical knife was protruding from her right temple,” Hely said.

Investigators learned Buckner had last been seen with Carter around 2 a.m., Hely said. About four hours later, Carter took a rideshare to South Station where he boarded a train to New York, Hely said. Carter was arrested in New York on Dec. 17.

In the shed where Buckner’s body was discovered, investigators found men’s clothing and size 13 shoes, attire that was “consistent” with what Carter wore in the days before Buckner’s death.

“The clothing had red-brown stains on it, consistent with blood,” Hely said. “There was also a large pool of blood in that shed.”

Carter initially declined to waive extradition from New York but did so on Jan. 5, Hely said. He was brought back to Massachusetts Friday.

“He’s not without prior significant contacts with the court,” she said. “In addition, the Commonwealth notes that on any occasions on which the defendant’s been afforded the opportunity to be placed on probation, he’s violated conditions of release.”

Prosecutors did not provide a motive for the slaying, and Carter’s lawyer, Scott P. Murphy, did not respond in detail to the allegations, although he did request an evaluation of his client’s mental competency.

Judge Daniel W. O’Malley said Carter’s competency could be addressed at a later date.

“The defendant maintains his innocence,” Murphy wrote in court papers seeking funds for an investigator, which O’Malley approved. “Funds for an investigator are necessary and essential for the defendant so that he may interview potential civilian witnesses and possibly testify at trial or a motion hearing.”

Buckner had been living at the Park Street address with Carter, according to a woman named Bianca who owns the home.

Bianca, who asked that her surname be withheld, told the Globe in a recent interview that Carter introduced her to Buckner, saying she needed a place to stay.

“She was super intelligent,” Bianca recalled. “She seemed to feel safe, where she hadn’t in a long time.”

In early December, however, Carter began behaving erratically, the Globe reported. Buckner told Bianca he was off his meds and that she was trying to help him. After Carter punched Buckner in the head without warning, Bianca and her boyfriend asked him to find somewhere else to live, Bianca told the Globe.

“He was upset we chose her over him,” Bianca said.

Buckner, Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham wrote last week, had been in rehab for substance issues and “wanted to get back her baby girl, who had been taken into foster care.”

Buckner’s father, Robert Buckner, recently told the Globe that his daughter “was beautiful and intelligent and had that way about her that people liked.”

“The sadness is starting to sink in,” he said. “The reality of my daughter never calling me, and [never] hearing her voice again.”