Authorities said the victim and the accused teenager had no known connection, deepening shock across the North Shore.
DANVERS, Mass. — The killing of a 68-year-old woman inside her Danvers home shook residents, school families and police this week after prosecutors said an 18-year-old high school senior chose the house at random and later admitted to the attack.
By Friday, the case had grown from a local welfare check into one of the region’s most unsettling criminal investigations. Authorities identified the victim as Janet Swallow, a longtime resident of Amherst Street, and the defendant as Anthony DeMayo of Lynn, a senior at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody. Prosecutors said they have found no connection between the two. That detail has defined nearly every public statement since the arrest, because it turned the case from a homicide investigation into a broader community trauma touching Danvers, Lynn and the school community all at once.
Officials said the break in the case came not in Danvers, but in Lynn. On Thursday afternoon, police there received calls about a young man carrying a knife and acting erratically on Standish Road. Officers found DeMayo, took the knife and saw what prosecutors described as a stain consistent with blood. Because of his behavior, police brought him to Salem Hospital for evaluation. As the inquiry continued, prosecutors said DeMayo told officers he had killed a woman in Danvers the night before. Investigators then searched for the home he described and were led to Swallow’s address on Amherst Street, where police found her dead during a welfare check. Authorities said the attack happened inside the house and the injuries were consistent with homicide.
Court documents described by local news organizations added a grim narrative to that timeline. Prosecutors said DeMayo told investigators he had wanted to kill someone for a long time and had driven through nearby communities before stopping in Danvers. The filing said he noticed a house under construction, then entered another nearby home through a window after tearing off a screen. Once inside, prosecutors said, he moved room to room until he found a woman asleep in a bedroom and stabbed her in the neck. The filing said he then left, drove back to Lynn, changed clothes and stayed home. Investigators said his cellphone data placed him in a Danvers neighborhood during the overnight hours, adding digital evidence to the physical evidence they said they recovered.
For Danvers residents, the details reopened an old civic memory. In 2013, the town was devastated by the killing of Danvers High School teacher Colleen Ritzer, a case that also involved a teenager and drew national attention. The current case is different in its facts and location, but it landed with similar force because it involved sudden violence and a young defendant. Officials were careful Friday not to speculate beyond the evidence already in court documents. Instead, they emphasized what they believe they know: that Swallow did not appear to be targeted because of any personal tie, that DeMayo is believed to have acted alone, and that no wider threat to the school or neighborhood had been identified.
The community response quickly split into two tracks, one legal and one emotional. In Salem District Court, DeMayo was set to face murder and home invasion charges, but a judge first ordered an evaluation tied to competence and criminal responsibility before arraignment could proceed. Outside court, Danvers police and Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker framed the killing as a tragedy made harder by its lack of explanation. Tucker said the violence appeared random. Bishop Fenwick President Tom Nunan Jr. said the school was cooperating with law enforcement and told families the incident happened off campus, did not involve other students and did not suggest a threat to the school community. Counselors were made available Friday and were scheduled to return Monday.
Swallow’s death also left a more personal loss behind the court language. Officials said she leaves two adult sons. Reports identified her as an ICU nurse at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, a detail that added another layer of grief for people who knew her through work and community life. On Amherst Street, the case transformed an ordinary block into an active crime scene. On Friday, the public picture was still incomplete. Investigators had not publicly answered every question about the exact timing of the attack, what forensic testing might show, or whether any additional evidence would be introduced at the next hearing. But the outline of the case was already clear enough to stun the region: police say a woman was killed in her home by someone she did not know, and a chance encounter in another city led officers to the suspect.
As of Friday, the case remained active, with prosecutors preparing for further court proceedings and investigators continuing to review evidence. The next public step was the continuation of the Salem District Court process after the ordered evaluation.
Author note: Last updated March 13, 2026.