Investigators reveal new details in case of Mass. woman found murdered in Vt.
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (WCAX) - Investigators have revealed new information about the case of a woman found murdered in Vermont last summer, including the identity of the killer and how the crime unfolded.
It has been more than six months since the body of Mary Anderson was found in her truck in Brattleboro. Now, we have new details about the murder and the events that led up to her death.
“We do believe this was a domestic violence-motivated homicide,” Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Shriver said.
Anderson was last seen leaving a party in Hudson, New Hampshire, this past July. When the 23-year-old returned home that night to Harvard, Massachusetts, investigators say her disgruntled ex-boyfriend was lying in wait.
“Based on the investigation done mostly in Massachusetts near where Mary Anderson was living, it seems to indicate that Mr. Davis was waiting for her when she came home that evening, forced her into her own vehicle,” Shriver said.
It was there where police believe Matthew Davis shot her once in the head and then drove away with her body.
Partial audio and video from the incident were captured at a distance from a nearby church center.
Anderson’s truck was found two days later on Elliot Street in Brattleboro. Investigators say the murder weapon was on the center console.
“She was shot in the driver’s seat of her own vehicle and when she was found, she was in the passenger seat of that vehicle two days later,” Shriver said.
Davis was shot and killed by police later that day after lunging at them with a knife, a couple of miles from where Anderson’s body was located.
At this time, we do not know why Davis drove to Brattleboro or his connections to Vermont. However, we do know that he had ties to western Massachusetts.
“The evidence collected throughout the investigation showed that he had been to several different places over those two days and he was captured on surveillance in other towns in Massachusetts,” Shriver said.
Davis had a history of violence which included a prior conviction for stabbing the boyfriend of a previous ex. But, what sparked the deadly incident in July may never be known.
Police have been cleared of any wrongdoing in Davis’s death.
A victim’s advocate from Vermont has been in touch with Anderson’s family as the investigation has progressed. A memorial for Anderson now rests on Elliot Street.
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