Billerica man held without bail in connection to his grandmother’s death

BILLERICA, Mass. — A Billerica man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection to the death of his grandmother.

James Forsythe, 26, of Billerica, is accused of killing his grandmother, Ellen Scaringi, 69, of Billerica.

On Thursday, at approximately 10:17 a.m., Billerica Police received a 911 call for an unresponsive female inside a Village Lane home. Upon arrival, police located the victim, identified as Scaringi, in her home suffering from apparent trauma. She was pronounced dead on scene.

According to police, preliminary investigation suggests that on the morning of Oct. 1, Scaringi was with Forsythe at her home where they had both been living in since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investigators believe that Forsythe subsequently assaulted Scaringi, and killed her. After the alleged altercation, Forsythe reportedly fled the scene using his grandmother’s car.

At around 10:10 a.m. Friday, State Police responded to a single-vehicle crash on 495 South in Bolton. At the scene, they found Forsythe was the one involved in the accident.

He was transported to a Worcester hospital for treatment of his injuries.

A subsequent investigation showed there were no signs of forced entry into the home and no indication that anyone else had entered the home on the morning of Oct. 1.

Officials then issued a warrant the same day for Forsythe’s arrest in connection with violating a pre-trial condition that he stay away from the Village Lane residence since the apartment was connected to an open domestic abuse case with the same victim from May 2019 out of Lowell District Court.

Further investigation into both incidents led the DA’s office to charge the defendant with murder on Friday.

Forsythe remains hospitalized and was arraigned virtually via a Zoom call Friday where he was held without bail for the murder charge. His bail was revoked on his other open case. He’s due back in court for both cases on Oct. 29.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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