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Vanessa MacCormack, a young, married teacher, was found dead in her Boston-area home, and authorities are now accusing her husband, Andrew, of murdering her.
She was a well-liked second-grade teacher in Massachusetts. On social media, both Vanessa and Andrew MacCormack filled their pages with photos that showed them as a loving couple, at their wedding, during his proposal, entering their first new home.
Police were being tight-lipped about the circumstances of MacCormack’s mysterious death on September 25, and initially sought the public’s help in solving it. However, on September 26, they revealed that MacCormack was murdered and that her husband was arrested in the death.
“The evidence suggests that her murder was a crime of domestic violence, committed in the very place where she should have been safest – her own home,” Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office said.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. MacCormack Was Found Unresponsive in Her Home on a Saturday Afternoon
On Saturday, September 23, MacCormack, who was 30, was found unresponsive in her Boston area home in Revere, according to CBS Local.
Police said she was found dead in the Grand View Avenue home around 3:30 p.m. “They said there were signs of trauma to MacCormack’s body, but did not say how she died,” the television station reported.
However, on September 26, authorities revealed that MacCormack “suffered blunt force injury to the head, sharp force injuries to the neck and asphyxiation,” according to WCVB.
A press release from the Massachusetts State Police read, “Revere Police and emergency medical personnel responded to the Grand View Avenue scene just after 3:30 yesterday afternoon and found 30-year-old Vanessa MacCormack unresponsive. A preliminary examination revealed signs of trauma on the body and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of her death.”
2. MacCormack’s Husband Was Spotted Picking Up a Baby Chair at the Home & Crying
MacCormack was married, and her husband – now the suspect accused of the crime – acted the part of the grieving husband. “Vanessa’s husband Andrew went to the house Sunday to pick up a baby chair and some other items. He left without saying anything, but stopped to break down and cry at the scene,” reported CBS.
Her husband’s Facebook page shows him holding a small infant in 2016, and says he is a drywall taper and finisher who also works as a security supervisor at a private security firm. He studied criminal justice at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He posted many pictures of himself with his wife, and also posted an old photo of rose petals and candles arranged on the pavement to read “marry me?”
According to Fox 25, authorities consider MacCormack’s death “suspicious.” Neighbors told the television station that the family had not lived in the home for very long. The Boston Globe reported that MacCormack purchased the home with two others in 2015.
In 2015, she posted photos of Andrew carrying her over the threshold into the home and wrote, “Moving on to the next chapter in our lives! I love this man more than anything and I am so happy we are finally homeowners ?????❤️❤️❤️”
The cause and specific manner of MacCormack’s death are still being investigated. MacCormack’s profile picture on Facebook shows her in a wedding dress and is dated 2015.
3. Police Said That Andrew MacCormack Called 911 & Accuse Him of Trying to Clean up the Scene
Police said right away that the preliminary facts didn’t necessarily point to a random attack by a stranger. WCVB reported that Andrew MacCormack called 911 and quoted the DA’s office as saying, “Evidence suggested that the killer made concerted efforts to clean up the crime scene and dispose of related items.”
“While the facts and circumstances do not immediately suggest a random incident, authorities said the investigation is still in its early stages,” police said in the press release. “Anyone with information on MacCormack’s death, or who was present in the area of Grand View Avenue through the day yesterday, is asked to contact Revere Police at 781-286-8340 or State Police at 617-727-8817. Any observation of people, vehicles, or activity could be helpful and no piece of information is too small to share, investigators said.”
Police added that many jurisdictions were involved in the investigation, saying, “Revere Police detectives assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division are working with members of the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit, which has jurisdiction over death investigations in Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop, and State property within the City of Boston. They are supported by the State Police Crime Scene Services Section, uniformed troopers, and other State Police assets.”
4. MacCormack Was Remembered as a ‘Talented’ & ‘Passionate’ Educator
For the past five years, MacCormack had worked as a second-grade teacher at Connery Elementary School, where she was fondly remembered, reported NECN.
“Vanessa was loved by students, parents, and colleagues. She was involved in every aspect of the school and a great friend to everyone on staff,” Dr. Mary Dill, the principal of Connery Elementary, said in a statement.
The full statement, which was also posted on Facebook, read in full, “On behalf of Lynn Public Schools, we are profoundly saddened by the tragic death of Vanessa MacCormack, a second-grade teacher at the Connery Elementary School. Vanessa taught at Connery for five years and was in the district for seven years. She was a talented, dedicated and passionate educator and a loyal, kind and compassionate friend and colleague. We send our deepest sympathies to her family, friends and colleagues. Grief counselors will be at Connery beginning tomorrow and all of this week to assist students and staff at this most difficult time. Our school community is heartbroken. Vanessa was loved by students, parents and colleagues. She was involved in every aspect of the school and a great friend to everyone on the staff. She will be dearly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.”
5. MacCormack Was a Mother & Her Family Wrote That She ‘Did Not Deserve This’
NECN reported that MacCormack lived in the home where she died with her “significant other” and her child with Andrew, a 1-year-old girl.
On social media, her family posted a statement that read, “She was an amazing mother, sister, daughter, friend, cousin, wife and teacher. She did not deserve this.” A friend wrote, “Fly high my friend I’m going to miss you sooooo much thank you for your friendship… R.I.P. Vanessa MacCormack ?❤️??.”
Police had made no arrests in MacCormack’s death as of September 25.