40-year-old Thomas Hogan of Worcester, Massachusetts faced a judge Friday, officially charged with intimidating a witness and misleading the homicide investigation into the woman's body found in a burned out car on Swan Ave Wednesday night.
"And yes he's a suspect," said Assistant District Attorney Terry McLaughlin.
Prosecutors allege Hogan was caught in several lies when investigators questioned him the same day they found the woman's body.
McLaughlin said, "The defendant has misled the Worcester Police Department on multiple occasions at this point including when his last communication was with the alleged victim in this case, when the last time he saw the alleged victim in this case, how often he was with the victim over the last two weeks prior to this incident and specifically where he was located during the time in question regarding the active homicide investigation."
No one wanted to talk about the charges at the family's longtime Montague Street home, but neighbors said they couldn't believe Hogan was named a suspect in this gruesome homicide.
One neighbor Ann Walsh said she was "shocked and stunned to say least."
Craig Perkins who has known Hogan since high school said, "He's just a guy with a big heart, I find it hard to believe he's involved in anything like this."
Hogan's attorney said he lives with his parents, and while he has a bit of a record he argues Hogan's not a flight risk.
Several neighbors said Hogan is self-employed, plowing the street and doing yard work for the neighborhood all the time.
Walsh said, "He seemed like a very nice young man, always waived, he yelled hi Mrs. Walsh as he drove by that was it."
Next-door neighbor Maricelis Gonzalez said, "It's a pretty good, safe neighborhood around here, I would have never expected this to happen in my neighborhood at all."
