Reading man sent disturbing messages to friends after allegedly killing mother, prosecutors say

The young man accused of killing his mother in Reading, Massachusetts appeared in Woburn District Court for the first time since his arrest.

A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of Ryan Hanafin, 22, on a first-degree murder charge in the death of his mother, 49-year-old Andria Hanafin. Ryan is also facing additional charges for improperly storing firearms near a minor and receiving an untraceable firearm.

He is being held without bail for the murder charge. For the additional firearms charges, he is being held on a $5,000 cash bail. 

Police said Ryan Hanafin shot his mother in their home on Center Ave. in Reading on Oct. 7 and then drove to Vermont, where he was arrested the next day. 

Investigators said Matthew Hanafin, Ryan's father, called 911 after arriving home from work around 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 8 and found his wife's body in the kitchen of their home on Center Avenue. Their 13-year-old son was also inside the home, unharmed. 

An autopsy later found that Andria was shot in the head. 

During Ryan's arraignment Thursday, prosecutors said Matthew and Andria last spoke during a phone call at around 6:51 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Prosecutors said Andria told Matthew she had been arguing with Ryan and said that she wanted him to move out of the house. 

According to prosecutors, on the day of her death, Andria said to a friend that Ryan told her "he had ruined her life." Prosecutors said Andria and Ryan had an ongoing dispute over the number of cats in the home. 

Andria Hanafin was known to foster cats. Eighty-four cats were found in the home after her death and are now with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). 

Prosecutors added that Andria had expressed to another friend that she was afraid of her son and feared retaliation from him because he had access to firearms. 

Ryan Hanafin had a license to carry a firearm and had 10 registered firearms, according to prosecutors. Investigators say they found 19 firearms in Ryan Hanafin's room at the family's home in Reading, including a ghost gun, leading to the untraceable firearm charge. A 3D printer was also found in his room. 

Investigators found text messages shared between Ryan Hanafin and relatives during what prosecutors believe to be the hour of Andria's death. 

In one of the messages, prosecutors said Ryan Hanafin told a cousin that he "blew madre to pieces." Investigators found that Ryan Hanafin called his mother "madre." 

Prosecutors said Ryan Hanafin wrote in another message to a cousin that he "blew her s--- smooth off." 

Ryan Hanafin is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 10. 

Hundreds of people went to Memorial Park in Reading Wednesday night to pay their respects to Andria Hanafin at a candlelight vigil.