Norwood man arrested in fatal beating

Victim killed in brawl, police say

A Norwood man faces a murder charge after a house party in that town turned deadly yesterday.

Police found Scott F. Haynes, 39, of Wareham in a pool of blood on Winslow Street at about 3 a.m., with massive injuries to his head.

Police suspected that he had brawled with Kevin S. Schultz, 26, and they launched a search for Schultz, calling him a potential threat. They arrested him at about 7 p.m. yesterday, Norfolk prosecutors said.

Police said the victim's mother hosted the party at her Winslow Street duplex, which she had recently sold. Based on the preliminary investigation, police believe the mother got into an argument with Schultz over damage to the interior of her home and asked him to leave the party.

Haynes interceded when Schultz did not leave and a fight broke out, spilling into the street.

At a news conference yesterday, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating did not say how many people witnessed the fight, explaining that it could compromise the prosecution.

When officers arrived, they found Haynes in the road. He was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and died shortly before 9 a.m. Schultz was taken into custody without incident by Norwood and State Police after returning to his mother's home.

He will be arraigned on a murder charge Monday in Dedham District Court, Keating's office said.

Norwood's police chief, Bart King, said the homicide is the first in the community in nine years. "This is not something that happens in Norwood frequently," he said.

The 1999 death was a stabbing at a boarding house.

Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in the City & Region section on May 18 misidentified the host of a party in Norwood at which Scott F. Haynes of Wareham was fatally beaten. The party was hosted by the mother of suspect Kevin S. Schultz.