An arrest warrant for murder has been issued for Ryan Hanafin for the death of his mother in their Reading, Massachusetts, home. Hanafin will be extradited back to Massachusetts from Vermont, where police captured him after his mother was shot and killed on Wednesday.
Hanafin made an initial appearance in Vermont Superior Court on Friday. The 22-year-old was arrested by Vermont State Police on Thursday afternoon after his mother, 49-year-old Andria Hanafin, was found dead by her husband in their home in Reading.
Hanafin is currently being held without bail in the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. The Middlesex district attorney later announced that an arrest warrant for murder was issued for Hanafin.
He is awaiting transfer back to Massachusetts after waiving his right to a formal extradition during his initial court appearance Friday.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Andria's husband Matthew called 911 after arriving home from work around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday and finding his wife's body in the kitchen of their home on Center Avenue. Their 13-year-old son was also inside the home, and was unharmed. Investigators said he last saw his mother alive around 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Ryan Hanafin was not at home when police arrived, and his car was gone. Reading police then asked for the public's help in finding him after he was last seen driving toward Tewksbury, Massachusetts at about 7:25 p.m. Wednesday.
Massachusetts State Police contacted Vermont State Police because they believed Ryan Hanafin was in Warren, Vermont, where he was believed to frequent. He was subsequently arrested on Vermont Route 100 south of the Sugarbush Access Road at around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
Ryan Hanafin legally owns several guns and has a license to carry a firearm, which was suspended Thursday morning by Reading police, District Attorney Marian Ryan said.
"It is a moment of reflection about the presence of guns in a home during an alleged dispute," she said.
The district attorney added that Ryan Hanafin has no known history of mental health issues.
"She's done a lot for us over the years. She's a really good human being," Elizabeth Coppla, a friend of Andria's, told WBZ-TV. "The world is a much darker place without her in it. She always said nice things about her kids. She loved her family, she did. And we knew Ryan, he's been in our house."
The Middlesex District Attorney's office, Reading Police and Massachusetts State Police are investigating.
