Slain Malden mom of 7 sought restraining order
Never filed court papers, records show
A 31-year-old Malden mother of seven who police say was strangled to death with a dog leash by her boyfriend had asked cops for a restraining order after he assaulted her last month but never filed the court papers to keep him away.
Prosecutors charging 32-year-old Ryan Power with strangling and murdering Leah Penny said Malden police had visited their Lebanon Street home in May after Power pushed Penny to the ground and took off with their two young children.
Penny, a North Carolina native who had lived in the Boston area for the past three years, told Malden officers she wanted a restraining order against Power if he made bail for the assault and battery, though she never filed for that order, according to court records and prosecutors.
Penny’s mother, Patty Duble, told the Herald the whole family is heartbroken over the tragic death of her first-born.
“The whole family is distraught,” Duble said from North Carolina. “It doesn’t seem real. I just had no idea that things were the way that they were. I knew there were problems — but I never knew it was that intense.”
Duble said Penny was a mother of seven and a “wonderful child” herself.
“She was always an honor student,” Duble said. “She had her problems in her life, but we all do.”
Cops responding to Penny’s house Wednesday found her dead at the foot of a staircase, with a dog leash wrapped around her neck, Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunigan said.
The couple’s children, ages 1 and 2, were found lying in their cribs, according to police.
“He left a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old in that home alone, with their mother dead on the floor, without regard,” Duble said. “I want that to be known.”
Power’s mother, who found Penny’s body when she went to see her grandchildren, went to Malden police and was contacted by Power, who had fled to Seabrook, N.H,
A detective and Malden’s police chief got on the phone with Power, and he told them he and Penny had an argument that turned physical Tuesday night and “he choked her with his hands,” Dunigan said. Power said he left after the argument, went to a store, then came back and didn’t see Penny anymore that night.
Power also spoke with New Hampshire police monitoring where he was staying after a warrant was issued for his arrest, saying “My girl is dead. I came back home and she was dead.”
New Hampshire police arrested Power, who agreed to be brought back to Massachusetts, where he is charged with murder, strangulation and assault on a family member. A judge ordered Power held without bail until full bail arguments could be heard in two weeks.
Power’s attorney, Daniel Solomon, said the autopsy report on Penny’s death could change the story.
“There are a raft of issues” with the case, Solomon said, declining further comment.