A man is in police custody and another suspect is still at large while authorities have identified a man and woman brutally murdered inside a Massachusetts home over the weekend.
The Essex district attorney's office announced 45-year-old Michael Hebb of Peabody was arrested at the Maple Village Condos on Aborn Street just after noon on Monday.
“I was in my daughter’s apartment,” said Sue Rankin, who witnessed the arrest. “I just heard banging, a whole bunch of people yelling, and I opened the door to look out, and I heard police and the police that were standing outside - told me to go back in the apartment.”
Investigators could be seen using flashlights and taking photos as they gathered more evidence in the case.
Sources said Hebb did not live there but was visiting a female acquaintance.
“He was very, very skinny and scrawny looking,” said Rankin. “With black, scruffy beard... he was really dirty looking.”
Neighbors said this isn’t the first time they've seen police in the area.
“I guess I’m not really surprised but being this close it’s a little unnerving,” said neighbor Naomi Hickey.
The name and description of the other suspect sought in connection with the Peabody homicide investigation has not been revealed; however, sources previously said police are looking for a black Acura with the license plate number 33R H49, which was stolen from the scene, and that the people who stole the car may be armed. It's not clear if police recovered the stolen car during Hebb's arrest.
Hebb's arrest comes hours after law enforcement revealed that Mark Greenlaw, 37, and Jennifer O'Connor, 39, were the victims of a gruesome slaying inside a home on Farm Avenue. Greenlaw and O'Connor were a couple and likely knew their killers, according to police.
O'Connor's family said their relationship with her was strained but the gruesome ending to her life is by no means easy to take.
“It's just not fair. People say life's not fair. Here is a classic example,” said the family member who did not want to be named.
O'Connor's family said before she was found dead over the weekend, she had fought to stay alive more than once. At age five, she beat cancer, then had a stroke at age 15. At age 30, she almost had a deadly infection.
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“Nobody should suffer like that. Nobody deserves that,” said the family member.
Authorities say they were alerted to the situation after a woman ran out of the home on Farm Avenue and flagged down a car late Saturday, eventually going to the state police barracks in Danvers. Greenlaw and O'Connor's bodies were found Sunday by investigators.
Authorities also said they have been called to the home multiple times over the years, but would not specify as to why. Neighbors say the troubles at the home were well-known.
No information was immediately released about how Greenlaw and O'Connor died. Investigators on Sunday described the scene as "difficult" and "messy."
Hebb is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
State police, Peabody police and the district attorney's office are investigating.
