Thursday, 4:30 PM
Woman found slain in Braintree apartment
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff
BRAINTREE -- When an 8-year-old girl’s mother failed to pick her up from school Thursday, officials called police.
Authorities said the girl was later given grim news: her mother had been murdered.
Investigators were looking Thursday night for a suspect in the death of Michelle L. Durham, 28, whose body was discovered in the Braintree Village apartment she shared with her daughter.
Neighbors said the building in the sprawling apartment development was the frequent scene of domestic disputes involving Durham and an unidentified man. About a week ago, resident Jason Hancock, 27, said, police were called after the woman fled the building with her daughter "screaming for help."
Investigators released few details about the case, saying only that they were investigating it as a homicide, that it was not believed to be a random act, and that the public should not fear a suspect being loose.
Braintree police came to the apartment complex shortly before 4 p.m., scouring the area for weapons and searching the nearby woods. State Police crime scene detectives were expected to work throughout the night processing the apartment, said Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating at a press conference Thursday night at Braintree police headquarters.
Police were called at 3:41 p.m. Thursday by officials at a Braintree elementary school after the mother failed to pick up her daughter. The body was found as police performed a well-being check at the home, Keating said.
He declined to say how she was killed or if a weapon was found. Keating also declined to say if Durham dropped her daughter off at school or when she was last seen alive.
Investigators refused to say if Durham had restraining orders against anyone or provide any details about her family relationships. He would only say the mother and daughter lived alone in the apartment in the development on McCusker Drive.
"The 8-year-old girl is now safe," Keating said. "And she has had the opportunity to unfortunately be informed" about the death of her mother.
