NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Detectives investigating the 2019 disappearance of a New Bedford woman found the woman’s young son and his father, a person of interest in the case, dead in an apparent murder-suicide on Friday, officials said.
Officers responding to a request for a well-being check at a home at 1643 Phillips Road just after 8 a.m. located two people dead in the home, 53-year-old George C. Scott III and his 8-year-old son, Dante Hazard, according to the Bristol District Attorney’s Office.
“It appears from the evidence recovered at the scene to be a murder-suicide,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
The boy is also the child of Lisa Hazard, who was been the subject of a missing person investigation since her disappearance in March 2019, according to state and local authorities.
As part of the ongoing investigation into Lisa’s disappearance, detectives executed a search warrant at the Phillips Road home two and a half weeks ago, according to the Bristol County DA’s office.
Scott is believed to have killed the boy with a sharp object before taking his own life, a preliminary investigation indicated.
The well-being check was requested after a relative had not been able to get in touch with Scott.
The DA’s office noted that Scott was a person of interest in the disappearance of Hazard. He was also said to be living at home with the boy.
The medical examiner’s office is now working to determine the exact cause and manner of their deaths.
Officials say Scott is still a person of interest in the disappearance of Lisa Hazard.
An investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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