Norton Murder Suspect Held Without Bail
Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney
Press Release
January 28, 2016
Martin McDonald was formally arraigned this afternoon in Attleboro District Court. Mr. McDonald, 35, of Weymouth, is charged with murdering his estranged wife in Norton last night.
The defendant was ordered held without bail after today’s arraignment and will be transported to Bridgewater State Hospital for a criminal responsibility competency mental health evaluation. He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on February 17.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Norton Police and Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to this office continue to actively investigate the homicide.
At 7:25 p.m. Wednesday, Norton Police received a 911 call from an individual in an apartment at 2 Holmes Street regarding a woman being stabbed. When police and fire personnel entered the apartment, they located the victim unresponsive. She was immediately transported to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, where she was pronounced dead. The victim has been identified as Julie A. Meede, 34, of 2 Holmes Street, Norton.
About a minute after the 911 call, a state police radio dispatch was received regarding a two car crash on Route 495 in Norton just south of the Route 123 interchange. Preliminary investigation by Trooper Christopher Roy indicates a Dodge Ram pickup traveling on Route 495 southbound crossed the grass median and entered the northbound side of the highway, where it collided with a Nissan.
The operator of the Nissan, Kathryn Degnan, 30, of Smithfield, RI, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital, but has since been treated and released.
The operator of the Dodge Ram was identified as Mr. McDonald, 35, who currently resides in Weymouth.
Mr. McDonald, the estranged husband of the Holmes Street victim, Julie A. Meede, was charged late last night with murder.
The crash on Route 495 remains under investigation those involved in the homicide investigation, along with Troop H of the Massachusetts State Police with assistance from the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section.
The investigation is being coordinated by Assistant District Attorney Stephen Nadeau, who also handled today’s arraignment.
District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III urged the victims of any crime, including domestic violence, to call 911 in an emergency. SafeLink, a statewide Domestic Violence Hotline, can be reached at 877-785-2020. SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24 hours a day in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521-2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages.
Contact:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
508-997-0711
774-292-9576–cell