Background: News footage of Thadeus Joseph’s court appearance (WCVB). Inset: Astrid Joseph (provided by family).
A Massachusetts man was ordered by a judge to be held without bail after he was charged with murdering his mother.
Thadeus Joseph, a 23-year-old individual, was in court on March 5 where prosecutor Christine Cullen detailed the disturbing scene discovered at the Avon residence of Astrid Joseph, aged 53, who was found deceased on March 4.
Cullen informed the judge about the grim situation, mentioning that there was a significant amount of blood on the floor near Astrid’s head, along with a blood-stained carving knife beside her body. As reported by Boston ABC affiliate WCVB, Cullen further stated that on the same day, Astrid Joseph’s husband, Yval Smith, received a troubling phone call from his wife during which he overheard his son saying, “I have your phone.” Subsequently, Yval Smith heard his wife’s response, “I’m your mother. Give me the phone,” before the call abruptly ended.
The next time he saw his wife, she was dead.
In court, Cullen relayed that Yval Joseph, the husband, had informed law enforcement officials that his son had been confiding in them about his mental well-being in the days leading up to the tragic event at their residence. Thadeus Joseph allegedly shared with his parents on the day of his mother’s passing that he needed to “take the morning off for a mental health day.”
The distressing phone call was made to Yval Joseph at around 10 a.m. on March 4, and he rushed home after the phone call was cut off, WBX, a local CBS affiliate, reported. At the scene at the Joseph family home, “there were signs of a struggle,” according to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey. Yval Joseph found his wife on the floor and the family car was gone.
Thadeus Joseph was not at the scene when his father and police arrived. Officers eventually found him about four hours later at a shopping center in a neighboring town. Cullen said that Thadeus Joseph’s behavior while being booked was “erratic,” stating that he reportedly told officers, “This is so funny. All I had to do was kill my mom and then this is it … is that [sic] stomp her face in?”
The judge ordered that Thadeus Joseph be held without bail until his next court date, which is scheduled for April 10.
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