A grand jury has indicted a Massachusetts man on a murder charge in the October slaying of a man he'd been in a relationship with, prosecutors said Friday.
The new charge in the death of Ryan Anderson was handed up against Kevin Donnellan by a Worcester County grand jury on Friday, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office. The indictment moves the legal proceedings over Anderson's killing to Worcester Superior Court.
Donnellan, a 34-year-old from Auburn, had already faced various charges, including assault with intent to murder and aggravated assault and battery.
Anderson, 29, was found dead at their Millbury Avenue home on Oct. 1, after someone -- alleged to be Donnellan -- called 911 to report another man's death and requesting police help.
Court documents revealed that Donnellan allegedly told police he would be outside on the back stairs waiting for them and continued to speak with police dispatch until officers arrived. A dispatcher asked Donnellan if the victim had fallen or hurt themselves, to which he responded no.
Donnellan said that the victim had last been seen alive about six hours earlier and that his neck was slashed, court documents show. He allegedly confirmed that he and the victim had been fighting and said the victim was downstairs; he was injured and bleeding from an attempt to kill himself by stabbing.
Donnellan was taken into custody and brought to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester for treatment of his injuries, police have said.
Officers searched the home and found the victim dead in the basement with obvious trauma to his neck, along with red-brown stains on his body and in more than one area of the home, according to court documents. A search warrant was later issued and evidence was collected from the scene. Investigators said they obtained a text message from the victim to a third party in which the victim expressed "fear for their safety" and concern that Donnellan would kill them.
Prosecutors have said Donnellan and Anderson were in a relationship.
