Richard Hanson and the police at the scene where he allegedly killed his wife. (CBS News screenshots)
A 64-year-old man in Massachusetts was arrested over the weekend and is accused of killing his wife in front of their young son, who was on the phone with police watching as his father allegedly beat his mother to death with a baseball bat. Richard Hanson was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with assault with one count each of intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury for the slaying of 54-year-old Nancy Hanson inside of their home.
The brutal killing occurred two days after the Newton District Court granted Nancy Hanson a restraining order against her husband which officers with the Newton Police Department had been attempting to serve, the department said in a press release put out in conjunction with the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the release, officers at about 8:21 p.m. on Saturday, July 15 responded to a 911 call placed by a juvenile — later identified as the Hansons’ son — who reported an “ongoing assault” taking place inside of his home located on Brookline Street. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders quickly located Nancy Hanson, who they said appeared to be suffering from multiple blunt-force injuries.
Emergency Medical Services personnel transported Nancy Hanson to Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
“The preliminary investigation suggests that during the physical altercation Richard Hanson allegedly struck his wife with one or more objects multiple times,” the release states. “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the death a homicide and the cause of death was blunt force trauma. We do anticipate additional charges.”
During Richard Hanson’s arraignment in Newton District Court on Monday, Assistant District Attorney Megan McGovern provided additional details about the alleged incident and what the couple’s son told the 911 emergency dispatcher, according to a report from CBS News.
According to McGovern, the boy told the dispatcher that he was downstairs with his two little brothers while his parents were upstairs fighting. He reportedly said that his dad was “hitting his mother with a baseball bat.”
Additionally, McGovern reportedly told the court that Nancy Hanson was on the phone with one of her friends at the time of the attack. The friend later spoke to an investigator about what she heard once Hanson allegedly began striking his wife.
“She heard the phone drop and then several loud bangs could be heard in the background, as well as children screaming, ‘Stop dad, you’re killing her’,” McGovern reportedly told the court.
McGovern also provided details about what police said they encountered when they first arrived at the home. Officers reportedly said the first person they encountered was Hanson, who was allegedly in the driveway covered in blood.
“He made statements to the effect of, ‘She was cheating on me’ and that he couldn’t believe he did that,” McGovern said, according to CBS.
Led by one of the couple’s children, police reportedly found Nancy Hanson in one of the kids’ bedrooms. She was unconscious and bleeding from the head, per CBS. The baseball bat and a “weighted bar” with what appeared to be blood spatter on it were reportedly found next to her.
Hanson pleaded not guilty to the charges against him during his arraignment and is currently being held without bond.
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