No bail for Newton man accused of beating wife to death with baseball bat in front of their children

WOBURN, Mass. — A Newton man who allegedly beat his wife to death in front of their three children earlier this summer, just two days after a restraining order was taken out against him, was ordered held without bail Thursday.

Richard Hanson, 64, was arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with a brutal assault that claimed the life of his wife, 54-year-old Nancy Hanson. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.

Officers responding to a 911 call made by a child who reported an assault inside a home on Brookline Street on July 15 found Nancy Hanson suffering from apparent blunt force injuries, the office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.

Nancy Hanson was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where she was pronounced dead.

A preliminary investigation indicated that during the physical altercation, Richard Hanson allegedly “struck his wife with one or more objects multiple times,” authorities said.

The couple’s son told a 911 dispatcher that his father used a baseball bat to beat his mother, according to prosecutors. A friend of Nancy Hanson, who was on the phone with her at the time of the incident, told investigators that she heard the phone drop, loud bangs, and multiple children in the home screaming, “Dad, stop, you’re killing her!”

In reading from a police report during Thursday’s hearing, Prosecutor Megan McGovern told the court that Richard Hanson had continuously accused his wife of cheating on him prior to carrying out the alleged bat attack.

Richard Hanson was standing in the driveway in blood-covered clothes when responding officers arrived at the crime scene, and according to McGovern, he apologized and stated he had “caught her cheating.” They then entered the home and discovered a blood-soaked bat and weight bar on the ground next to the battered victim.

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Man accused of beating wife to death in Newton faces a judge Man accused of beating wife to death in Newton faces a judge

An autopsy revealed that Nancy Hanson suffered a fractured forearm, defensive wounds to her fingers, multiple rib fractures, and blunt-force skull injuries, as well as torso bruising.

Court documents showed that a restraining order Newton police had been attempting to serve was issued against Richard Hanson on July 13. The three children who were present in the home also told investigators that their parents would “argue frequently.”

Richard Hanson was indicted by a Middlesex grand jury on Aug. 17.

He has been held without bail since his initial court appearance last month.

The life of Nancy Hanson was honored in late July during a candlelight vigil.

An investigation remains ongoing.

Scene of assault that left Newton wife dead

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