Vermont arrest: Ryan Hanafin, 22, charged with murdering mother in Reading, MA
Ryan Hanafin, 22, was taken into custody in Warren, Vermont, and faces murder charges in the fatal shooting of his mother in Reading, Massachusetts.
Vermont arrest leads to murder charge over Reading, MA shooting
Ryan Hanafin, 22, agreed Friday to be extradited to Massachusetts after appearing before Washington County Criminal Court in Barre, Vermont, where he had been held without bail at the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury since his arrest the previous day.
According to vtdigger.org, Hanafin faces charges of murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Massachusetts in connection with the fatal shooting of his mother, 49-year-old Andria Hanafin. VTDigger noted it could not independently confirm the charges; the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office had not responded to requests for comment by Friday.
Vermont Superior Court Judge Michael Kainen asked Hanafin during the brief video hearing whether his decision to return to Massachusetts was voluntary. "Yes, sir," Hanafin replied, appearing on screen from St. Johnsbury.
Washington County State's Attorney Michelle Donnelly told the judge that Massachusetts authorities were expected to travel to Vermont to transport Hanafin back "pretty quickly," though she added she did not have an exact timeframe. Kainen scheduled a follow-up hearing for the following week to monitor the status of the transfer.
Pulled over on Route 100 in Warren
Massachusetts State Police contacted Vermont authorities Thursday after determining that Hanafin was believed to be in the state and had a "prior connection" to Powderhound Road in the town of Warren, according to court filings made public Friday.
Vermont troopers spotted Hanafin driving a Dodge Charger on Route 100, south of the Sugarbush Access Road in Warren, at approximately 2:30 p.m. Thursday. He was pulled over and taken into custody on an arrest warrant issued out of Massachusetts.
Family conflict and a Snapchat message
Court filings describe a household in Reading, Massachusetts — a suburb of Boston — where Ryan Hanafin lived with both of his parents and between 20 and 30 cats and kittens. Andria Hanafin, a mother of three, worked as a veterinary technician and was described in the filings as an animal rescuer and fosterer.
Ryan Hanafin's father, Matthew Hanafin, told investigators he discovered his wife's body when he returned home from work early Thursday morning. He reported that both his son and the Dodge Charger were missing. "Matthew told investigators he noticed that and thought it was strange because Ryan had not left the house in several days," the court filings stated.
Matthew Hanafin told police he had last spoken to his wife Wednesday evening. According to the filings, "They spoke briefly about an argument with their son Ryan about the cats in the household," and the victim had told him she wanted Ryan to move out. The father also recalled seeing his son around 11 a.m. Wednesday, at which point he had been "yelling at Ryan that he needs to get a job and do something with his life."
Massachusetts authorities had earlier in the investigation identified Ryan Hanafin as a "person of interest" in the shooting death.
Snapchat message cited in filings
Police also spoke with a friend of Ryan Hanafin's, who told investigators he had received a Snapchat message from Hanafin at 6:44 p.m. Wednesday. The message, cited directly in the court filings, referred to a conversation Hanafin had had with his cousin: "Told him I blew madre to pieces and he believed me" — using the Spanish word for mother.
Hanafin's Vermont defence attorney, Avi Springer, had not responded to requests for comment by Friday.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)