The victims were relatives, but authorities have not released their identities or determined the cause and manner of their deaths.
ACTON, Mass. — Massachusetts authorities are investigating the unexplained deaths of a woman and teenage boy found inside an Acton home, with their identities, causes of death and the events leading to the discovery still undisclosed Wednesday morning.
The deaths were discovered after Acton police responded shortly after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to a request for a well-being check at a home on Martha Lane. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said a member of the household had been unable to make contact with people at the residence. Officers entered the home and found the woman and teenage boy dead.
Ryan said the victims were related but did not provide further details about their relationship as authorities worked to notify family members. A third member of the household, 17-year-old Arjun Aravind, was initially unaccounted for, prompting an overnight search. The district attorney’s office said Wednesday morning that Aravind had been located and that there was no risk to public safety.
The end of that search shifted attention back to the central unanswered issue in the case: how the two people inside the house died. Authorities said Tuesday night that they did not yet have information to release about either the cause or manner of death. No homicide determination, criminal charge or official explanation for the deaths had been announced by Wednesday morning.
Investigators have also not publicly described the condition of the home, any evidence recovered there or the sequence of events before police arrived. Officials have not said when the woman and teenager were last known to be alive, whether police had previously been called to the residence or what prompted the household member to request the well-being check beyond being unable to reach anyone there.
The investigation expanded outside Acton because Aravind and a green 2014 Honda Accord belonging to the woman were missing after the bodies were discovered. Authorities initially asked the public for help finding him and advised anyone who encountered him or the car not to approach. The vehicle was later found overnight in Wayland, according to local reports, while the search for Aravind continued until his location was announced Wednesday morning.
Officials have not said whether Aravind was with the car when it was found or where he was eventually located. They also have not publicly accused him of causing the deaths. The district attorney’s statement that there was no risk to public safety did not explain his status in the investigation or whether authorities were interviewing him.
State police investigators assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office are working with Acton police on the case. Residents around Martha Lane and nearby areas were told to expect an increased police presence as investigators processed the scene and followed leads connected with the deaths and the search.
The withholding of the victims’ names was tied in part to family notifications, Ryan said. Officials often release more information in stages during an early death investigation, but authorities had not announced when the victims would be publicly identified or when findings on the causes and manners of death might become available.
Acton Police Chief Douglas Sturniolo described the situation as a tragedy for those involved. His department and the district attorney’s office have not announced any charges, identified a suspect or disclosed a possible motive. The investigation therefore remains centered on establishing what happened inside the home and determining whether the deaths involved criminal conduct.
Ryan and Sturniolo were expected to speak at a 1 p.m. Wednesday news conference at the Acton Police Department. The briefing was expected to provide the next official update after Aravind was located, while investigators continued working to establish how the woman and teenage boy died.
Author note: Last updated August 12, 2026.