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Background: News footage of Thadeus Joseph’s court appearance (WCVB). Inset: Astrid Joseph (provided by family).
A Massachusetts man was ordered by a judge to be held without bail after he was charged with murdering his mother.
Thadeus Joseph, 23, appeared in court on March 5 as prosecutor Christine Cullen described the bloody scene at the Avon home of Astrid Joseph, 53, who was found dead on March 4.
Cullen told the judge, “There was a pool of blood on the floor next to her head, and a carving knife with blood on it next to her body,” according to Boston ABC affiliate WCVB. The same day, Cullen said that Astrid Joseph’s husband, Yval Smith, received a distressing phone call from his wife and reportedly heard his son say, “I have your phone.” Yval Smith then heard his wife say, ‘I’m your mother. Give me the phone” before the call was disconnected.
The next time he saw his wife, she was dead.
According to Cullen’s statements in court, Yval Joseph told police that his son had expressed concerns to his parents about his own mental health in the days leading up to the incident at their family home, including thoughts of self-harm. Cullen said that Thadeus Joseph reportedly told his parents on the day of his mother’s death that he was “taking the morning off for a mental health day.”
The distressing phone call was made to Yval Joseph at around 10 a.m. on March 4, and he rushed home after the phone call was cut off, WBX, a local CBS affiliate, reported. At the scene at the Joseph family home, “there were signs of a struggle,” according to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey. Yval Joseph found his wife on the floor and the family car was gone.
Thadeus Joseph was not at the scene when his father and police arrived. Officers eventually found him about four hours later at a shopping center in a neighboring town. Cullen said that Thadeus Joseph’s behavior while being booked was “erratic,” stating that he reportedly told officers, “This is so funny. All I had to do was kill my mom and then this is it … is that [sic] stomp her face in?”
The judge ordered that Thadeus Joseph be held without bail until his next court date, which is scheduled for April 10.
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