WOBURN, Mass. -- A registered sex offender from Lowell faced double murder charges in connection with an alleged attack that claimed the lives of Woburn mother and daughter.

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Man Faces Murder Charges

NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that Michael Bizanowicz, 41, allegedly raped and killed Joanne Presti and then killed her daughter, Alyssa, 12, because she witnessed the attack, according to prosecutors.

Bizanowicz's record includes rape of a child. The level three sex offender was charged with two counts of murder in court Tuesday. He was on the sex offender registry and listed in Lowell, but there was no warning for Woburn residents.

"We do not live in bubbles. I live in Winchester, and this is Woburn. A Winchester sex offender can walk over the line to Woburn, from town to town," Winchester resident Jan Santoniello said.

Members of the Presti family were in court to face the alleged killer.

"I can see the sign down there -- an eye for an eye. I mean those days are over. It's hurt us all. It's hurt my department and my city. We are still very distraught. The best thing about today is that we know we have him off the streets. We know he is locked up, and he cannot hurt anyone else again. He will get a fair trial, but upon conviction, hopefully, he will spend the rest of his life in jail," Woburn Police Department Chief Phillip Mahoney said.

A police report released late Tuesday indicated that Bizanowicz knew the victims in the case.

He was held without bail.