Ex-boyfriend linked to death of Mary Anderson spent time in prison for 2009 attack
HARVARD - Court records have revealed new information about the violent, criminal past of Matthew Davis, the person of interest in the disappearance and death of Mary Anderson.
Davis was killed Tuesday night by police in Brattleboro, Vermont, hours after Anderson's body was found there.
Anderson, 23, of Harvard, was reported missing by her family Sunday. She was last seen alive in Hudson, New Hampshire around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday. Her body was found Tuesday inside her truck on Elliot Street in Brattleboro. Police later said they were searching for her ex-boyfriend Davis, 34, of Fitchburg, as a person of interest in the case.
Davis was spotted walking in West Brattleboro Tuesday night by members of the Vermont State Police and Brattleboro Police.
"Two troopers and a Brattleboro police officer fired their weapons in the course of the encounter with Davis, who was armed with a knife," Vermont State Police said in a statement Wednesday. Davis died at the scene. The trooper and the officer have been placed on administrative leave.
"I know when they broke up it was a rough break up. He didn't want it and I know that Mary told me that he was texting her to try to get back together," Anderson's mother Sheila told WBZ-TV Tuesday.
WBZ learned Wednesday that Davis had previously served prison time for a violent attack involving another ex-girlfriend 13 years ago.
Court paperwork shows in 2009 he hid in his ex-girlfriend's closet in her Pittsfield apartment and then stabbed and seriously wounded her new boyfriend who was in the room with her.
The woman is the mother of two of Davis's children. Davis was convicted in the attack and served time in prison.
Investigators have not yet said how Mary Anderson died. Sheila Anderson, who lost her son to another tragedy just 11 months ago, said her focus is on remembering her daughter and staying strong for her family.
"Matt's not my focus. My children, my two surviving children, are my focus right now to get them past this devastating event," she said.
Autopsies on Anderson and Davis are expected to be completed on Thursday.
