Anthony DeMayo, an 18-year-old Massachusetts high school senior, was arrested for the random murder of 68-year-old Janet Swallow after a neighbor spotted him with a bloody knife. Police say he confessed to breaking into her Danvers home, stabbing her in the neck while she slept, and leaving her to die before driving back to Lynn.[web:previous]
Arrest Circumstances
On Thursday afternoon, Ashley O’Brien saw DeMayo walking erratically, making stabbing motions with a large knife covered in blood; she called 911 describing him as “unhinged and mentally unwell.” [query] Officers quickly apprehended him, and he admitted, “I killed a woman in Danvers the night before,” with cellphone data placing him at the scene from midnight to 1 a.m. [query]
Confession Details
Court documents detail DeMayo driving around Danvers seeking a break-in target, entering Swallow’s kitchen window, searching rooms, then stabbing her repeatedly until the knife stuck; he dragged her to the floor and fled. [query] He reportedly told investigators he had “planned to kill someone for a long time.” [query]
Victim and Aftermath
Janet Swallow, an ICU nurse and mother of two adult sons, had no connection to DeMayo, per Essex County DA Paul Tucker, who labeled it a random act. [query] DeMayo, a Bishop Fenwick High School senior, faces murder and home invasion charges, with arraignment in Salem District Court. [query] The school offered counseling support.
