AVON, Mass. — Prosecutors are revealing chilling statements allegedly made by a young man in the hours after he was accused of murdering his mother.
Thadeus Joseph is charged with killing Astrid Joseph inside the family’s home on Nichols Avenue in Avon on Tuesday afternoon.
Police caught up with Joseph at South Shore Plaza in Braintree less than four hours after his father found the body on the kitchen floor next to a carving knife.
Officers recovered shopping bags from a luxury streetwear store and the family’s white Nissan Pathfinder at the mall.
Investigators said the recent UMass Lowell graduate had taken a mental health day from work on the day he allegedly killed his mother.
His father told detectives that his son said he was experiencing anxiety and mental health issues three days before the murder.
“He was also having thoughts of hurting himself,” said Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Christine Cullinan.
Norfolk County prosecutors said a phone call was made from the victim’s phone to her husband hours before the fatal stabbing.
“The phone sounded as if it was on speaker, and he heard the defendant say, I have your phone,” said Cullinan. “He then heard his wife respond, saying, I’m your mother. Give me the phone. The phone then disconnected.”
Prosecutors said the victim’s husband tried to call her several times over the course of the next hour, but none of those calls were answered.
He then reportedly rushed home in traffic from his work in Dorchester and arrived home to find a gruesome scene.
“The family is going through some things, and they’re trying to come to grips with what happened,” said family friend Richard Gedeon.
Family friends said the traumatic details are magnifying the heartbreak for the victim’s husband and the couple’s younger son.
“It’s got to be some mental illness. It can’t be just a malicious act. It’s got to be something. They’re such a close family,” said family friend Keith McDermott.
A police report said, “The suspect was extremely uncooperative by giving sarcastic responses to booking questions.”
According to the report, he allegedly tried to lick officers, urinated on the floor and wall three times during booking, and destroyed a booking telephone before throwing a piece of it at an officer.
“The suspect also declined his opportunity to make a phone call and spit in the direction of officers while he was being fingerprinted,” the report states.
The report also details a “spontaneous utterance” from Joseph that was allegedly captured by a police body-worn camera.
“This is so funny. All I had to do was kill my mom, and then this it?”, as well as “is that… stomp her face in.”
Joseph was ordered held without bail.
He’s due back in court on April 10th for a probable cause hearing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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