A Massachusetts mother was found shot dead inside her home, prompting an hours-long manhunt for her adult son, who had fled to Vermont.
Andria Hanafin was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound inside the kitchen of her Reading, Mass., home at around 12:38 a.m. on Thursday, the Reading Police Department said.
Son arrested after mother is found shot dead inside her home
Hanafin’s husband, Matthew, had discovered his 49-year-old wife when he returned home from work and called 911.
Hanafin, a mother of three, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The couple’s youngest son, 13, was inside the home at the time of the shooting but told police he had last seen his mother alive at around 5 p.m. before he went out with friends and returned to the house and went straight to his room at 9 p.m., Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a news conference. PoliticalNews Analysis
Hanafin’s 22-year-old son, Ryan Hanafin, was missing from the household along with his car.
Officials then started their search for the unaccounted-for adult and his 2010 black Dodge Charger connected to the homicide investigation of his mother.
The county DA revealed there was no known police contact before the deadly shooting.
Ryan Hanafin had access to several guns he legally owned.
“We do know Ryan Hanafin has a license to carry, which was suspended this morning,” District Attorney Ryan said.
Officials did not reveal a motive behind the killing, but said Ryan Hanafin had no known mental health issues.
Massachusetts police tipped the Vermont State Police Thursday afternoon to look out for Ryan Hanafin in the area roughly 170 miles northwest of Reading, a Boston suburb.
He was taken into custody after Vermont State patrol spotted his Dodge Charger and pulled him over at 2:30 p.m.
He was charged with being a fugitive of justice and held without bail at the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility, Vermont police said.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.
Hanafin’s third child, a daughter, was away at college at the time of the shooting, police said.
Andria Hanafin was remembered as a loving mother and friend who “genuinely cared about others.”
“There are truly no words to describe the heartbreak of losing someone so suddenly and tragically. Our beautiful friend Andria was taken from this world far too soon, leaving behind her loving husband, family, and friends who loved her dearly,” family friend Heather Gagliardi wrote on a GiveSendGo fundraiser.
“She had a heart of gold. She was the kind of person who would give you the shirt off her back without a second thought. She never wanted anyone to go without and was always looking for ways to help others, whether they were family, friends, or someone she had just met. Her kindness, and love for those around her were simply who she was,” Gagliardi added.