A man is facing a murder charge for the death of his grandmother at her home in Billerica, Massachusetts, prosecutors announced Friday.
Investigators believe the 26-year old suspect, James Forsythe, had been living at the home since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, though he was not allowed to be there after he was charged with abusing his grandmother last year, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
Police had been called to the Village Lane home at 10:17 a.m. Thursday for an unresponsive female, authorities said. When officers arrived, they found 69-year-old Ellen Scaringi suffering from "apparent trauma."
Scaringi was pronounced dead at the scene, the district attorney's office said.
Forsythe fled the scene after the alleged assault using Scaringi's vehicle, authorities said. He later crashed the vehicle on Interstate 495 in Bolton around 10:10 a.m. Thursday and was taken to a hospital in Worcester for treatment of unspecified injuries.
While prosecutors didn't say what they believe the motive for the killing was, they did note that Forsythe was initially arrested on suspicion of violating a restraining order that had been issued before a trial for allegations that he abused his grandmother in May 2019.
After subsequent work from investigators, Forsythe was charged with murder as well, prosecutors said. They said the home didn't appear to have been broken in to and or have been entered by anyone else Thursday morning.
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Forsythe is expected to be arraigned via Zoom at the hospital, prosecutors said. It's not immediately clear if he has an attorney who can speak to the charges.
