Autopsies: Mary Anderson died from gunshot wound to head; ex-boyfriend shot by police in chest
HARVARD — An autopsy has shown that Mary Anderson, the 23-year-old Harvard woman whose body was found in her truck in Vermont early Tuesday morning after she was reported missing Sunday afternoon, was shot in the head.
Anderson’s death has been ruled a homicide, according to a determination from the Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office released Thursday night by Vermont State Police.
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Her ex-boyfriend, 34-year-old Matthew Davis of Fitchburg, is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and death. Davis was shot and killed by police Tuesday night in West Brattleboro, Vermont, not far from where Anderson’s truck and body were found.
An autopsy on Davis determined he died from gunshot wounds to the torso, and his death is considered a homicide.
“This is a medical finding indicating the death of an individual was caused by the intentional act of another person and is not a legal determination regarding whether the shooting was justified,” Vermont State Police said in their statement Thursday night. “A ruling on the justification of the police use of deadly force will be made in separate, independent reviews by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the relevant county’s State’s Attorney’s Office.”
Anderson was last seen around 10:30 p.m. Saturday in Hudson, New Hampshire. When she did not return home and she could not be reached, her family reported her missing to police in Harvard around 5 p.m. Sunday. People who knew Anderson started posting information about her on local Facebook groups, hoping to find out what happened to her. Harvard police put out a missing person’s report on Facebook Monday morning.
While on patrol around 12:55 a.m. Tuesday, police in Brattleboro, Vermont found Anderson’s navy blue Toyota Tacoma; her body was inside.
Police turned their focus to Davis as the investigation moved forward on Tuesday, announcing he was a person of interest in Anderson’s disappearance and death.
At around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Vermont State Police and Brattleboro police saw Davis walking and approached to question him. Vermont State Police revealed Thursday night that Davis ran from the officers “and then lunged at police with a knife.” Two troopers and a Brattleboro officer shot Davis; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Vermont State Police said that Anderson’s cellphone was among the evidence officers located in the area where Davis ran from police.
Law enforcement in Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire continue to investigate what happened to Anderson, including when and where she was killed and whether she was abducted. Anyone with information should call Vermont State Police at (802) 722-4600 or provide an anonymous tip online at http://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
This article originally appeared on Leominster Champion: Autopsies: Mary Anderson, ex-boyfriend Matthew Davis were both shot
