A 22-year-old man in Massachusetts is accused of killing his own mother after a long-running dispute over the number of foster cats she was looking after. When police searched the family home, they found 84 cats living inside. The case has left a community north of Boston reeling.
A discovery at midnight
Andria Hanafin, 49, was found dead at her home in Reading, about 14 miles north of Boston, on Oct. 8. Her husband, Matthew, came back to the house shortly after midnight following a 12-hour shift and found her lying in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
The couple has three children. The youngest, a 13-year-old, was in the house when the 911 call was made. Another child, a daughter, was away at college.
The row over the cats
Prosecutors said Andria and her son, Ryan, argued often because he disliked how many foster cats his mother was caring for. After the shooting, investigators counted 84 cats in the home. They were taken to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Andria had reportedly told a friend she was frightened of her son and feared how he might retaliate. She said "he had ruined her life."
Tensions had apparently been building for some time. On the morning before the killing, Matthew said he told his son to "get a job and do something" with his life. That same evening, Andria phoned her husband and stressed that she wanted Ryan to move out. Authorities said Ryan had last held a job six months earlier at a gun shop, and had previously attended the local university.
Messages and a manhunt
Investigators say that after allegedly shooting his mother in the head, Ryan sent a series of Snapchat messages to a cousin. In one, he claimed he had "blew madre to pieces." He then left in his car, setting off an extensive manhunt.
He had driven to Vermont in a 2010 black Dodge Charger, and authorities found him there. Officials said they discovered thousands of rounds of ammunition inside the vehicle.
A search of the family home turned up 19 firearms, including a ghost gun, which is a weapon with no serial number that is hard to trace. Officials also found a 3D printer in Ryan’s room.
Where the case stands
Ryan has been charged with first-degree murder, plus assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He also faces a charge relating to an untraceable firearm.
At his first appearance in Woburn District Court, he pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is being held without bail on the murder charge, with bail of $5,000 set on the untraceable firearm charge. He is due back in court on Nov. 10.
The rescued cats are now in the care of the animal welfare organization, while the case against Ryan moves through the courts. The allegations against him have not been proven.
Image credit: LOCAL 12
Source: Daily Express US
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