NEWTON, Mass — A Newton man is charged with murder in the fatal attack on his wife at their Newton home. Prosecutors say the attack happened while her children were home, one of whom called police for help.
Richard Hanson, 64, is charged with murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury in connection with the death of his wife, Nancy Hanson, 54. He was held without bail during his arraignment.
At approximately 8:21 p.m. Saturday, Newton police received a 911 call from two people simultaneously, one was the couple’s son and the second was a friend of the victim who was on the phone at the time of the shooting. ‘aggression, said the prosecutor.
Prosecutors said during the 911 call the younger son said that during the physical altercation, Richard Hanson hit his wife with a baseball bat.
According to prosecutors, the friend heard the phone drop followed by loud bangs, and the kids yelled, “Dad, stop, you’re killing her!”
Police arrived at the home on Brookline Street and found Nancy Hanson suffering from apparent blunt force injuries. She was found lying on the floor of one of her children’s bedrooms with head injuries, prosecutors told Newton District Court. She was taken by ambulance to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she died.
Officers found Richard Hanson outside the home with blood spattered on his body and clothing and indicated that his wife had been cheating on him, prosecutors say.
The chief medical examiner has determined that his cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Nancy Hanson’s death follows the murder of three people in her Newton home last month. Jill and Bruno D’Amore and Jill’s mother, Lucia Arpino, were found stabbed to death in their Broadway Street home on June 25. Christopher Ferguson, 41, of Newton, faces murder charges in the case.
In a statement Sunday, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller called Saturday’s incident “another horrific tragedy in Newton.”
“I write this just three weeks after the tragic murders of Jill and Bruno D’Amore and Jill’s mother, Lucia Arpino,” Fuller said. “Our community is reeling and I know many of us are feeling uneasy. This is the time to reach out to family, friends, faith leaders and mental health professionals instead of taking -se and go it alone.
The couple’s children have been taken into the custody of the Department of Children and Families, a DCF spokesperson told Boston 25 News.
Nancy Hanson died two days after a restraining order was issued against her husband Thursday in Newton District Court, which Newton police had tried to serve.
Hanson is being held without bail and is due back in court on August 16.
NEW: Richard Hanson is in court. Prosecutors say he murdered Nancy Hanson. Prosecutors say the couple’s son and the victim’s friend called 911 during the attack. The son told dispatcher Hanson that he was hitting his mother with a baseball bat. The friend was on the phone with the victim during the attack.
— Robert Goulston (@rgoulston) July 17, 2023
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