A Massachusetts man convicted in 1991 of murdering his neighbor after a party on the day after Christmas was denied parole for a third time by state officials earlier this month.

Christopher Berry, 53, has served 37 years of his life sentence for the killing of his Saugus neighbor, 87-year-old Virginia Woodward, on Dec. 26, 1987.

Berry, then a 16-year-old, hosted a small party at his home, drinking beer and smoking marijuana, as well as consuming Xanax and mescaline, before getting into a physical altercation with his father, according to documents filed with the state’s parole board.

After the fight, his father physically removed him from the apartment and told him not to come back. Berry then decided to break into Woodward’s home, located across the street, to steal property and money

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