Missing Massachusetts woman found dead in Vermont; ex-boyfriend fatally shot by police

Vermont police shoot and kill ex-boyfriend of Harvard woman found dead

The body of a Massachusetts woman reported missing over the weekend was found in Vermont on Tuesday. The victim's ex-boyfriend, who had been wanted for questioning in connection with her disappearance, was later shot and killed by officers Tuesday night.

The body of 23-year-old Mary Anderson of Harvard, Massachusetts, was discovered in her pickup truck in Brattleboro, Vermont, at around 1 a.m. Tuesday, Vermont State Police said.

She had last been seen Saturday night in Hudson, New Hampshire, state police said.

After finding her body, state police said earlier Tuesday that they were looking to speak with Anderson's ex-boyfriend, 34-year-old Matthew Davis of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in connection with her death.

Then, at about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday night, state police saw Davis walking in West Brattleboro.

"During an attempt to speak" to Davis, he was shot and killed by officers, state police said in a news release. Police did not disclose if Davis was armed.

In a news briefing prior to Davis' shooting death, Vermont State Police Maj. Dan Trudeau said it was unclear why Anderson was in Brattleboro.

"There is no firm connection to the Brattleboro or Vermont area that we've developed yet," Trudeau said.

Undated photos of Mary Anderson and Matthew Davis. Family photo/Vermont State Police

Her cause of death will be determined by the Vermont medical examiner's office.

Anderson's family had reported her missing Sunday after finding her backpack in the yard of her home in Harvard, CBS Boston reports.

Anderson's mother, Sheila Anderson, told CBS Boston that Davis had "anger issues."

"That's the sad part for me as a mom, to know that whatever she experienced these last four days — just heart-wrenching, she was alone," Sheila Anderson said. "She wasn't with her mom and her siblings. I think that's the devastating part of knowing what she was going through the last four days. She was a beautiful daughter." 

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