‘Out of control’: Mother in North Andover murder-suicide had mental health problems, prior arrests

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — The mother suspected of stabbing her baby boy to death before turning the knife on herself in an apparent murder-suicide in North Andover earlier this week had a history of mental health problems and prior arrests, according to her family and court documents.

Officers responding to a 911 call from a home at 201 Turnpike Street just after 5 p.m. on Monday found 35-year-old Jennifer T. Paez and her 9-month-old son, Valentino Paez, suffering from apparent knife wounds, Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker and North Andover Police Chief Charles Gray said in an update on Tuesday.

Jennifer was pronounced dead at the home, while Valentino was rushed to Lawrence General Hospital, where he too was pronounced dead, according to Tucker and Gray.

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North Andover deaths

At the time of her death, Paez was awaiting trial in October for incidents in both North Andover and Lawrence in 2022 including charges of domestic assault and reckless operation of a motor vehicle, documents indicated.

A North Andover police report stemming from an incident at her Turnpike Street home on Dec. 10, 2022, showed Paez’s sister, Eileen O’Connor, called the police to report that she was “acting out of control” during an argument involving their mother, Elsa O’Connor.

At one point during the argument, Paez said she was going to “destroy” her mother, asking her to leave the house, the report stated. Family members told police that Paez had been yelling about a DNA test because she didn’t believe Elsa was her biological mother, claiming her mom previously “sold her” in Costa Rica.

Eileen told a responding officer that Paez suffered from bipolar disorder and hadn’t been taking her medication, citing “erratic and aggressive behavior” including her shooting their cat with a NERF gun, police wrote in the report.

Documents revealed the family was then informed that they could seek a restraining order against Paez under Massachusetts Chapter 209A, also known as the abuse prevention law.

When officers ultimately decided to arrest Paez on a charge of assault on a family member, police noted that she resisted arrest by “swinging her shoulders and arms.”

Five days later, on Dec. 15, 2022, Paez was arrested after she blocked the area of 274 South Broadway in Lawrence with her vehicle, according to a report issued by the Lawrence Police Department.

Scene or murder-suicide at North Andover home

Responding officers noticed a traffic jam in the area and found Paez’s silver SUV parked across the road. Police said that she then “suddenly accelerated at a high rate of speed approximately 50 to 60 mph,” veering into oncoming traffic multiple times as officers tried to stop her vehicle.

Police ultimately stopped the vehicle but Paez became “physically combative” and attempted to kick officers, the report stated. After Paez was detained for driving recklessly, a witness told investigators that she had “threatened to kill people with her car” while she blocked the area of 274 South Broadway.

After officers took Paez in to be booked, she threatened to fight them and started yelling “about being God” as she awaited transport to a hospital for evaluation, according to police. She also reportedly “started speaking in different dialects that didn’t make sense to officers.”

One officer investigating the motor vehicle arrest noted in the police report that he recognized Paez from a prior incident in which she attempted suicide by jumping in front of a moving vehicle.

People who live and work in the area of Turnpike Street told Boston 25 that they have seen police at the house in recent weeks.

DCF would not say whether or not they responded to the Turnpike Street residence in the past for any incidents. In a statement, a spokesperson said, “The Department of Children and Families is investigating in collaboration with law enforcement.”

An investigation into Monday’s apparent murder-suicide remains ongoing.

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