By Ryan Spencer
THE KEENE SENTINEL
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Police shot and killed a man Tuesday night who was a person of interest in the suspicious death of a missing Massachusetts woman, according to Vermont State Police.
Matthew Davis, 34, of Fitchburg, Mass., was the ex-boyfriend of Mary Anderson, who was found dead in her pickup truck in Brattleboro Tuesday morning, police said. Anderson, 23, of Harvard, Mass., had been reported missing by her family over the weekend.
Earlier Tuesday, Vermont State Police had asked for the public’s help to locate Davis but had not indicated why he was a person of interest, other than to say he might have information about the case.
State Police said in a news release early Wednesday morning that Davis had a knife when two state troopers and a Brattleboro police officer fired at him. A State Police detective had spotted a man matching Davis’ description while canvassing a West Brattleboro neighborhood, and state and town police responded to the area, according to police. The shooting occurred in a wooded area between Bonnyvale Road and South Street, and Davis was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Vermont State Police have begun an inquiry into the fatal police shooting, the release states.
Early Tuesday morning, Anderson’s body was found inside her pickup truck parked on Elliot Street after she was last seen around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday in Hudson, N.H., the release states.
Her body has been taken to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, and to make a positive identification, police said. The autopsy is expected to take place Wednesday, according to Vermont State Police.
Anderson’s truck is being processed by the Vermont State Police Crime Scene Search team.
Davis’ body is also scheduled for an autopsy. Names of the officers who fired their weapons will be released a day after the shooting, with the troopers to be placed on paid administrative leave for a minimum of five days, per standard procedures, according to Wednesday’s news release.
After the State Police investigation of the shooting, the case will be turned over to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the State’s Attorney’s Office for independent reviews of police using deadly force, the release says.
Police would like to speak with anyone who saw anything suspicious or who might have video that shows the area on or around Elliot Street on Monday, the release states. People with information should call Vermont State Police in Westminster, Vt., at 802-722-4600, or the Brattleboro Police Department at 802-257-7946.
Sentinel staff writer Tim Nail contributed to this report.
Ryan Spencer can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1412, or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @rspencerKS
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