Bishop Fenwick High School senior charged in random murder of Danvers woman “wanted to kill someone for a long time,” police say
Anthony DeMayo, an 18-year-old Bishop Fenwick High School student, was ordered held without bail Friday after police said he confessed to the disturbing random murder of 69-year-old Janet Swallow in Danvers, Massachusetts.
DeMayo was arraigned in Salem District Court on charges of murder and home invasion, a day after Swallow was found stabbed to death in the bedroom of her home on Amherst Street.
A psychologist told the court she spoke with DeMayo Friday and is “concerned about his rational understanding.” He was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for 20 days for a further psychiatric evaluation. He’s due back in court April 1.
CBS Boston
Anthony DeMayo arrested
The investigation started Thursday afternoon when Lynn Police got a 911 call about a man with a knife walking on Standish Road. A woman who saw DeMayo said he was “stabbing all these bushes” near her home.
When police found him, they said they noticed blood on the knife and that he was acting erratically. According to court documents filed Friday, DeMayo confessed to a murder.
Courtesy video
“As the investigation unfolded, DEMAYO informed Lynn Officers that he had killed a woman in Danvers the night before,” the documents stated.
Because of his mental state at the time, police said they took him to Salem Hospital. Investigators also went to search his home in Lynn. Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said evidence led them to Swallow’s home in Danvers, where police found her dead.
According to the court documents, DeMayo “told investigators that he planned on committing this act for a long time, and wanted to kill someone for a long time.”
In the statement of facts filed by police, DeMayo “stated that he drove around surrounding communities beforere stopping in Danvers, in front of a home that was under construction with a gray porta potty out front. He then stated that he located a home to break into and he did so by climbing in through a window, ripping the screen from the window in order to climb through into the kitchen.”
DeMayo, the filing alleges, “eventually located a woman sleeping in one of the bedrooms. DEMAYO then stated 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. After this act was complete, DEMAYO exited the home and drove his car back to his home in Lynn.”
CBS Boston
DeMayo was arrested at the hospital and charged with murder. He spent the night at the Danvers police station. Police believe DeMayo acted alone.
“This was random. There was no connection between the defendant and the resident,” Tucker said at a news conference late Thursday night. “He had no connection to the home.”
Danvers Police Chief James Lovel said Swallow leaves behind two adult sons. According to court records, she was divorced and had lived in the home on Amherst Street for decades. Swallow was a longtime intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington.
“This is a very difficult case because of the randomness of this violence,” Tucker said.
Neighbors shocked by brutal murder
Neighbors said that DeMayo randomly picking a house before heading inside to allegedly kill someone made them feel “unnerved.”
“It kind of adds to that fear that it could’ve really been anyone,” Jessica Mandri said.
Residents explained that it felt crazy that something so violent could happen in the area.
“You know I’ve been here my whole life and you really haven’t heard anything like this,” one man said.
Bishop Fenwick High School statement
DeMayo is a senior at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody. In a statement released Friday, the school’s president Tom Nunan, Jr. said they are “cooperating fully with local law enforcement in this investigation.”
“We know this matter involves serious charges against an 18-year-old student who is in the custody and care of the proper authorities,” Nunan Jr. said. “The reports reveal the incident took place off campus, did not involve any other members of our school, did not seem to indicate any connection between the victim and the person being charged with the crime, and does not present any threat to the Bishop Fenwick community.”
Counselors were on campus to help students and staff Friday and will be back again Monday.
CBS Boston
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim, her family, and all who have been affected by this horrific tragedy,” Nunan Jr. said.
“As a community of faith and hope, our focus is on our faculty and staff, our families, and especially our students. We are here to help them, to provide for them the supports they need, and to be present for them in this terribly difficult moment.”
Danvers, Massachusetts is about 10 miles north of Lynn and 22 miles north of Boston.
More from CBS News
