Reading, Massachusetts, woman killed inside home, son taken into custody in Vermont

A 22-year-old man was arrested in Vermont, hours after his mother was killed inside their home in Reading, Massachusetts. 

Andria Hanafin, 49, was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound early Thursday morning, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. Her son, Ryan Hanafin, was identified as a person of interest in her death. 

The district attorney said Matthew Hanafin called 911 after arriving home from work around 12:30 a.m. 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, unharmed. He last saw his mother alive around 5 p.m., according to investigators.

Their older son, Ryan, was not in the home when police arrived and his car was also gone.

Vermont State Police said Ryan Hanafin was arrested in Vermont on Route 100 south of the Sugarbush Access Road on Thursday afternoon. 

Hanafin was ordered jailed without bail on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment on Friday afternoon in Vermont Superior Court. 

"It is shocking. It is tragic. This is obviously a situation of domestic violence, alleged to be domestic violence at this point, although not the traditional domestic violence situation that we think of," the district attorney said. "It is a moment of reflection about the presence of guns in a home during an alleged dispute."

The initial police investigation found Andria Hanafin was shot to death. 

"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."

Coppla said she was not surprised when she found out police were looking for Ryan Hanafin. "No, because I know he has a gun, and I know he's the only one that has a gun in that house," Coppla told WBZ-TV.

Ryan Hanafin legally owns several guns and has a license to carry a firearm, which was suspended Thursday morning by Reading police, the DA said. He has no known history of mental health issues, she added.

Before he was taken into custody, police asked the public for help in finding him after he was seen driving his black 2010 Dodge Charger with license plate 2PSY15 toward Tewksbury, Massachusetts, at around 7:25 p.m. Wednesday. 

The Hanafins also have a third child, a daughter who was away at college at the time of her mother's death.

The Middlesex District Attorney's office, Reading Police and Massachusetts State Police are investigating the apparent homicide.