Five weeks later, still not answers in Medford woman’s death

MEDFORD, Mass. — Five weeks ago, the death of 61-year-old Barbara Noaves shocked the City of Medford.

Barbara’s body was found inside a recycling bin behind her home.

There was no obvious sign of trauma on Barbara’s body.

It’s a grim set of facts.

More than a month later, investigators are still trying to determine what happened to Barbara and how her body ended up in the recycling bin.

Officially, this case is considered a “suspicious death” and not yet a homicide.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office will determine cause and manner of death.

Until that report comes in, authorities are running down leads and interviewing as many people as they can.

Shortly after Barbara’s body was discovered, I found an application for a restraining order she took out against her husband.

In the application, Barbara described an emotional scene with her husband as she told him their marriage was over.

On the front page of the application, Jessica checked a box that said she was “placed in fear of imminent serious physical harm.” The restraining order was never granted because, I’m told, neither Barbara nor her husband appeared in court for a hearing on the matter. Six days before Barbara died, she allegedly sent an email to the court asking to withdraw her application.

Retired Boston Police Chief Dan Linskey told me in a Zoom interview that the ME’s toxicology report will likely be the key to determining what happened to Barbara.

“There’s a lot of questions that need to be answered here. Investigators have to wait for the science to come in. At the same time, we want to run down all of the other avenues that we can,” Linskey said.

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