Somerville woman charged with assaulting her mother, who was found dead in her apartment

A Somerville woman is accused of assaulting her 73-year-old mother, who was found dead inside the woman’s apartment over Memorial Day weekend, officials announced Thursday.

April Monroe, 48, has been charged with strangulation and assault and battery on a person over 60 causing serious bodily injury for the alleged attack on her mother, Gail Gasperini, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Somerville Chief of Police Charles Femino said in a joint news release. 

Gasperini’s husband reported her missing Sunday evening, telling authorities that his wife — an East Boston resident — had gone to visit Monroe and never returned. Somerville police responded to Monroe’s Summer Street apartment and found Gasperini dead inside, Ryan and Femino said. 

Officials noted that an autopsy found that Gasperini had injuries consistent with an assault, and a subsequent investigation pointed to Monroe. There has been no ruling on Gasperini’s cause and manner of death, so additional charges are possible, according to the release. 

Monroe was scheduled for arraignment in Somerville District Court Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether she had retained an attorney.