Thursday, 4:30 PM
Second suspect charged in beating of BU students
By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff
Boston and Hingham police arrested a 23-year-old Hingham man Tuesday in the brutal attack on Boston University athletes with baseball bats earlier this month.
Ronald B. Twombly, Jr., who was arrested at his home in Hingham, is set to be arraigned Wednesday in Brighton District Court on charges that include assault with intent to murder with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious injury.
The attack, which occurred on Dec. 3 outside of a house party in Allston, injured three college hockey players and a women’s lacrosse player. Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said Twombly allegedly beat the most seriously injured victim, a 22-year-old hockey player who suffered a broken bone in his eye socket and a dislocated thumb.
A Boston University hockey coach has said the attack occurred after a separate altercation the assailants had with hockey players earlier that night. A police official with knowledge of the investigation has said the students who were attacked were not part of the initial fight.
Four days after the assault, police arrested Sean Melanson, 23, of Hingham for his role in the incident. He is accused of chasing another student -- not one of the injured athletes -- with a hammer.
A woman answering the phone at Twombly’s home Tuesday night declined to comment.
Linda Schaeffer, of South Huntington, N.Y., said her son, Kevin, the most seriously injured of the victims, underwent surgery December 12. She said her son has a chip in his forehead, fractures in his cheekbone, and a fracture on the side of his head. Doctors put plates and screws in his face, she said, to help his broken orbital bone heal.
"We’re very, very happy that someone has been caught," Schaeffer said. "This was really a bad thing that they did ... He really was bashed pretty good."
