Man charged with grandmother’s murder

BILLERICA » A 26-yearold Billerica man — who was quarantined with his grandmother since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a court order that he stay away from her home due to a prior domestic incident — was charged with murder Friday afternoon for allegedly killing the 69-year-old library volunteer during an argument.

Ellen Scaringi was found dead with traumatic injuries inside her 10 Village Lane home at around 10:15 a.m. Thursday when police responded to a 911 call for reports of an unresponsive woman inside the residence, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. Her grandson, James Forsythe, has been charged with her murder.

Meghan Kelly, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Marian Ryan, said in a press release that Forsythe assaulted Scaringi and caused her death during an argument on Thursday morning.

After the alleged altercation, Forsythe fled the home using Scaringi’s car and crashed the vehicle in Bolton, about 25 miles from the crime scene.

At about 10:10 a.m. — minutes before police would find an unresponsive Scaringi inside her home — State Police responded to the single-car crash on Interstate 495 south.

Forsythe was taken to a Worcester-based hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Meanwhile, an investigation by police of the home at 10 Village Lane revealed there were no signs of forced entry and no indication that anyone entered the residence on Thursday morning, Kelly stated in the release.

Investigators determined Forsythe had been living with Scaringi “since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kelly said in the release.