DANVERS, Mass. — A 68-year-old woman is dead, and an 18-year-old is being charged with murder after what authorities are calling a homicide, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker announced in a press conference Thursday night.
According to the DA, earlier Thursday afternoon, Lynn police recieved a call regarding an individual walking around the city with a knife on Standish Street. Once officers approached the individuals, they noticed the individual was acting erratically and had “brown and red stains” on the knife that resembled blood.
The individual was taken to Salem Hospital, where authorities learned more details, which led Lynn police and Massachusetts State Police to conduct a search warrant on the man’s home, leading investigators to contact Danvers police.
Authorities were led to a single-family home at 17 Amherst Street in Danvers, where authorities conducted a well-being check.
Inside the home, they found 68-year-old Janet Swallow dead, “with wounds consistent of a homicide.”
Authorities can be seen blocking off Amherst Street and presumably surrounding the home.
The suspect, 18-year-old Anthony DeMayo, who is a resident of Lynn and a Senior at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, was taken into custody while at the hospital and is being charged with murder.
Danvers Police Chief James Lovell reassured residents that “there is no continued threat or danger to the public.”
District Attorney Tucker also added that throughout the investigation, there has been no connection made between DeMayo and the Swallow, and that the incident appears to be random and that he had acted alone.
“This terrible tragedy has struck the Swallow family, the town of Danvers, and the Bishop Fenwick community,” Tucker said. “They are all in our thoughts as we continue to investigate.”
DeMayo will be arraigned tomorrow at Salem District Court, where further details will be available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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