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Boston woman held without bail in death of lawyer found stabbed on Charlestown houseboat
Prosecutors say police found Joseph Donohue's body wrapped up and weighted on his houseboat in Charlestown.
A Boston woman is being held without bail in the stabbing death of a man whose body was found wrapped up and weighted on his houseboat in Charlestown Sunday.
Nora Nelson, 24, was charged with the murder of lawyer Joseph Donohue, 65, of Charlestown, after she was arrested at the scene on unrelated warrants, Boston police said in a statement.
Previously:
Nelson was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge Friday in the Boston Municipal Court’s Charlestown Division, where a not guilty plea was entered on her behalf. Her attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.
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Boston police arrived at Donohue’s houseboat at Shipway Place in Charlestown around 10:43 p.m. Sunday for a wellbeing check after his family said they hadn’t heard from him in 48 hours, Assistant District Attorney Rita Muse said in court.
But when officers arrived, Nelson allegedly answered the door. Asked about Donohue’s whereabouts, Nelson “was evasive and unresponsive,” Muse said. “Her statements were contradictory, and frankly, she lied.”
Prosecutors allege Nelson gave the officers a fake name and told them Donohue was at a strip club. When police entered the houseboat to look for Donohue, they found the man’s body in a patio area, “wrapped in a white and blue covering, secured with duct taped, and affixed with weights,” Muse said.
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Police also found a dead dog in the water near Donohue’s boat, she said.
“Officers observed blood throughout the home, as well as indicia of an active effort to clean up,” Muse said. Nelson, she added, “continued to provide nonsensical answers to the police inquiry, to contradict herself, and even provided a second false name.”
According to Muse, an autopsy determined Donohue died of stab wounds, and his manner of death was ruled a homicide. She said forensic evidence recovered from Donohue’s body linked him to both the crime scene and Nelson.
Nelson is due back in court March 6.
“I’m grateful to the investigators who have been working on this case since the moment police arrived at the scene on Sunday, and I extend my deepest condolences to Joseph Donohue’s family and friends,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “We will be with them every step of the way as we move to secure justice in this terrible crime.”
In a statement of their own, Donohue’s family said they are “heartbroken by this unimaginable loss.”
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“Joe was a wonderful family member, a cherished friend, and a trusted colleague,” the statement read. “Always generous and kind, he dedicated his life and career to helping others. He is loved and will be deeply missed. We’re grateful for the love and support we’ve received, and we kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time.”
The Boston Police Department’s homicide unit is continuing to investigate the incident and urges anyone with information to contact them at 617-343-4470. Community members can also assist anonymously via the CrimeStoppers tip line by calling 1-800-494-TIPS or texting “TIP” to CRIME (27463).
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