Crime
Anthony DeMayo, a Bishop Fenwick High School senior, is charged with murder and home invasion in 68-year-old Janet Swallow’s death.
Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker speaks to reporters. Jessica Rinaldi / The Boston Globe, File
A Bishop Fenwick High School senior is set to appear in Salem District Court on Friday on murder and home invasion charges, a day after he allegedly broke into a Danvers home early in the morning and killed a woman as she slept.
Anthony DeMayo, 18, allegedly confessed to the killing while speaking to police, according to a state of facts filed in the case. The victim, 68-year-old Janet Swallow, was found dead inside her single-family home at 17 Amherst St. on Thursday afternoon, Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker said Thursday.
Tucker added that investigators had found no apparent connection between DeMayo and Swallow and believe the attack was random.
According to the statement of facts, officers with the Lynn Police Department first encountered DeMayo on Thursday afternoon after 911 callers reported a man walking down Standish Street in the city while carrying a knife.
Standish Street is more than seven miles away from Swallow’s home.
Police identified the man as DeMayo and removed the knife from him.
“As the investigation unfolded, DeMayo informed Lynn Officers that he had killed a woman in Danvers the night before,” the court document says. “A red brown stain consistent with blood was also observed to be on the knife in his possession.”
Police then placed DeMayo in custody and took him to Salem Hospital under a Section 12 order to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
After he was read his Miranda rights, DeMayo continued speaking with investigators at the hospital. He allegedly told them that “he planned on committing this act for a long time, and wanted to kill someone for a long time.”
He also told the investigators that he drove around surrounding communities before stopping in front of a home under construction in Danvers. He allegedly said he then broke into a home by climbing through a window, ripping off a screen to get into the kitchen.
According to the document, DeMayo described the home as a one-level, black house on the corner of a street, consistent with where police later found Swallow dead.
After checking rooms in the house, he allegedly said he found a woman sleeping in one of the bedrooms. Per the document, he told police that he went into her bedroom and began stabbing her in the neck. “After the knife became stuck, he pulled her off the bed onto the floor,” the statement says.
He then left the home and drove his car back to his home in Lynn, according to his alleged statements. He changed his clothes and stayed home for the rest of the evening.
Police, using the description of the house in addition to other information obtained from DeMayo’s cell phone, were led to 17 Amherst St.
The statement says that his cellphone remained stationary in a Danvers neighborhood from midnight to 1 a.m. on Thursday.
Police said they found Swallow dead on the bedroom floor. It appeared that she had suffered from blunt force trauma to her neck. In addition, the back window that led into the kitchen had a ripped screen, according to police.
Lynn police placed DeMayo under arrest at the hospital. He was later transported to the Danvers Police Station.
On Thursday, Danvers Police Chief James Lovell said Swallow’s two sons had been notified of her death.
“This is not only a tragedy for the town, for the school,” Tucker said. “This is just a very difficult case because of the randomness of this violence.”
Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.
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