A man whose appearance matched that of a Bridgewater man wanted in the killing of his former wife in Medfield was found dead last night at a North Carolina rest stop. He had apparently hanged himself, Norfolk County prosecutors said.
Andrew Boisvert was being sought in the slaying of Margaret "Meg" Ninos, who was found bludgeoned to death last Wednesday in her home.
The car that Boisvert had been driving was parked at the rest stop, and the man who was found hanging had Boisvert's license in his pocket. The dead man also had an envelope addressed to law enforcement with contents indicating he was wanted for murder in Massachusetts.
The car was discovered shortly before 9 in a remote area by a rest stop worker off Interstate 77 near Statesville, N.C., about an hour north of Charlotte, prosecutors said.
The apparent hanging is being investigated by the Iredell County sheriff's office. The cause of death and identification will be made by North Carolina officials, prosecutors said.
"Our thoughts tonight are with the family of Margaret Ninos," District Attorney William R. Keating's office said in a statement.
State and local police had launched a nationwide manhunt for the short, portly Boisvert, 37, an emergency medical technician.
Ninos's family was distraught over the disappearance of Boisvert and worried that he would come for the 7-year-old daughter he had with Ninos. The child is in protective foster care, temporarily staying with a family the Medfield police chief personally selected.
Ninos, a labor and delivery nurse who worked at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, divorced Boisvert about five years ago.
Twice she filed restraining orders against him, according to documents in Waltham District Court. In 1998, she accused Boisvert of dragging her up a flight of stairs and holding her so hard that he left a large bruise on her arm.
"Since then, he has continued to have bouts of rage," she wrote in her complaint. "I am afraid for my safety and well-being."
In 2000, when she was seven months pregnant with their daughter, she filed another restraining order, saying that he broke furniture in the house and threatened to hit her.
"My fear is his temper," she wrote. They divorced soon after that.
But she wanted her child to know her father, and she permitted Boisvert to see the girl weekly, said Valerie LeBlanc, who described herself as Ninos's best friend.
"Meg was just trying to do what Maggie wanted," LeBlanc said. "She said, 'I would love to cut ties with him, but Maggie really loves her dad.' "
When Boisvert said he no longer wanted to be part of his daughter's life, Ninos pushed him to continue the relationship, because the child was devastated, LeBlanc said.
The day Ninos died, she and Boisvert were supposed to meet to talk about Maggie, said Mark LaMorie, the longtime partner of Ninos's brother, Steve.
"I feel lost sometimes without her," LeBlanc said. "She was so much fun and loyal and loving."
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.
