A 64-year-old man from Massachusetts has been arrested and charged with the murder of his wife in front of their young son. The horrific incident unfolded as the son was on the phone with the police, helplessly witnessing his father allegedly beat his mother to death with a baseball bat. The arrest came just two days after the victim got a restraining order against her husband.
Richard Hanson, 64, was taken into custody on Saturday and now faces charges of assault with intent to murder. He also is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The victim, 54-year-old Nancy Hanson, was found inside their home on Brookline Street with multiple blunt-force injuries. Despite being rushed to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she tragically succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
The Newton Police Department, in collaboration with the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, revealed that the incident occurred while officers were attempting to serve the restraining order. Responding to a 911 call made by the couple’s son, who reported an ongoing assault, first responders arrived at the scene to find Nancy Hanson suffering from severe injuries.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Richard Hanson repeatedly struck his wife with one or more objects during the altercation. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the death a homicide, attributing it to blunt force trauma. Authorities anticipate additional charges as the investigation progresses.
During Richard Hanson’s arraignment in Newton District Court, Assistant District Attorney Megan McGovern provided further details about the incident. According to McGovern, the couple’s son informed the 911 dispatcher that his parents were fighting upstairs while he was downstairs with his younger brothers. He reported that his father was using a baseball bat to assault his mother.
McGovern also revealed that Nancy Hanson was on the phone with a friend when the attack occurred. The friend recounted hearing the phone drop and then several loud bangs, along with the children screaming for their father to stop. When police arrived at the scene, they found Richard Hanson in the driveway, covered in blood, making statements about his wife’s alleged infidelity.
Led by one of the couple’s children, officers discovered Nancy Hanson unconscious and bleeding from the head in one of the children’s bedrooms. A baseball bat and a weighted bar, both with apparent blood spatter, were found nearby. Richard Hanson pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment and is currently being held without bond.