Teen Breaks Into Woman's Home and Kills Her as She Slept

Image: Teen breaks into woman’s home and kills her as she slept.

Janet Swallow had lived on Amherst Street in Danvers, Massachusetts, for decades. Her neighbors knew her, looked out for her, and — in the way of quiet suburban streets — took her presence for granted. On the night of March 11, 2026, while she slept in her own bedroom, someone climbed through her window and killed her.

She was 68 years old. She was a semi-retired ICU nurse at Lahey Hospital. She had two adult sons.

And according to prosecutors, the person who killed her had never met her before.

Who Is Anthony DeMayo

Anthony DeMayo, 18, was a senior at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, Massachusetts — a private Catholic school about seven miles from Swallow’s home. He had no prior criminal history, according to his attorney.

On the night of March 11, authorities say DeMayo drove through North Shore neighborhoods before selecting a home at random: parked in Danvers in front of a home under construction, then walked to a nearby house on Amherst Street. He ripped a screen from a window, climbed inside, and moved through the house until he found Swallow asleep in her bedroom.

He was arrested the following afternoon — Thursday, March 12 — not at the scene, but miles away in Lynn, after multiple 911 callers reported a man walking erratically down Standish Road carrying what appeared to be a blood-stained knife.

“He Was Just Stabbing All the Bushes”

One caller, Ashley O’Brien, told authorities she watched DeMayo from her yard as he moved down the sidewalk. She described him swinging his arms and stabbing a row of bushes repeatedly — as though practicing.

“It looked like he was pretending the bushes were a person,” O’Brien told WCVB. “It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen.”

Lynn police responded, took DeMayo to a local hospital due to his erratic behavior, and later executed a search warrant on his home. Cell phone data and the description of the house he provided to officers led investigators directly to Swallow’s home on Amherst Street, where she was found dead on her bedroom floor.

What Prosecutors Say Happened

DeMayo was arraigned on March 13, 2026, in Salem District Court on charges of murder and armed home invasion. He pleaded not guilty.

According to court documents filed by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, DeMayo told detectives that he had planned to commit the act for a long time — that he had wanted to kill someone “for a long time.” He described selecting the house, entering through the window, and finding a woman asleep in the bedroom before stabbing her in the neck.

Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker confirmed at a press conference that investigators found no connection between DeMayo and Swallow. “This is random,” Tucker said. “There was no connection between the defendant and the victim.”

DeMayo was ordered held without bail and sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a 20-day psychiatric evaluation. He is next scheduled to appear in court on April 1.

The Woman Her Neighbors Knew

Janet Swallow had worked as a nurse at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, where colleagues described her as a beloved fixture of the ICU. Scott James, Lahey’s chief nursing officer, called her “a valued member of our community” who would be “greatly missed.”

On her Amherst Street block, neighbor Mark Llewellyn told reporters he had lived across from Swallow for 16 years. He cleared her driveway after snowstorms. She watched his dog when he traveled.

“She was a great person and a great friend,” he said. “I want people to know how much we care.”

A GoFundMe was launched to support her family’s expenses. A friend who contributed described her as “the funniest nurse I have had the pleasure of working with.”

A Community Still Processing What Happened

In Danvers, the case drew comparisons to a 2013 tragedy in which a student at Danvers High School killed a 24-year-old teacher. The parallel — a local student, a senseless act, a victim with no connection to the suspect — landed heavily on a community that thought it had seen the worst of it.

Bishop Fenwick High School canceled classes the day after the arraignment. The school’s president said counselors were on campus and that the incident had no connection to the school community.

For Swallow’s sons, and for the neighbors who knew her by name, none of that explanation changes what happened on Amherst Street. A woman who spent her career caring for people in their most vulnerable moments was killed in her sleep — in the one place she was supposed to be safe.

The investigation remains ongoing. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for April 1.

References: Bishop Fenwick Student Confessed to Random Murder of Danvers Woman, Police Say | Anthony DeMayo Arraigned for Murder of Janet Swallow of Danvers