BELCHERTOWN, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — The Belchertown man accused of fatally shooting his wife inside their home on Daniel Shays Highway on Friday evening, was arraigned Monday on charges of murder and assault and battery. The defendant was ordered to be held without case and the case continued to April 27th, 2026.
From the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office:
Man Arraigned on Murder Charge in Belchertown Shooting
BELCHERTOWN— Mark Opper, 56, of Belchertown was arraigned this morning in Eastern Hampshire District
Court, in connection with the fatal shooting of his wife, Diane Opper, 56, also of Belchertown. The shooting is
alleged to have occurred shortly after 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2026, inside the couple’s residence at
111 Daniel Shays Highway in Belchertown.
The defendant was arraigned on charges of murder and assault and battery on a family or household member.
Judge Bruce Melikian ordered that the defendant be held without bail and continued the case to April 27,
2026.
Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Erin Aiello, Chief of the Office’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Unit, represented the Commonwealth. Attorney Jonah Goldsmith of the Committee for Public Counsel
Services was appointed to represent the defendant.
The case remains under active investigation by the Belchertown Police Department and the Massachusetts
State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court