A Revere man is accused of beating and strangling his wife to death in their home, bleaching the evidence then bringing their toddler daughter with him to pick up cocaine.
Andrew MacCormack appeared in Chelsea District Court on Wednesday on the charge of murder in the death of his wife Vanessa MacCormack, a beloved second-grade teacher in Lynn. She was the mother of their 1-year-old daughter.
MacCormack broke down sobbing in court when a judge ordered him held without bail. Investigators said his wife was found dead on Saturday with blunt trauma to her face and stab wounds on her neck. She had also been strangled, detectives said, and some of her teeth had been knocked out.
Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum said in court that a trash bag had been put on Vanessa’s head, in an apparent effort to catch blood, The Herald reported. “The place smelled of bleach,” he said, adding that the bathroom was impeccably clean but the couple’s bedroom had traces of blood.
MacCormack had called 911 to report the death, and was later seen crying outside the couple’s home. Police said on the afternoon of the killing, MacCormack went with his baby to East Boston and bought $100 worth of cocaine from a drug dealer there.
Texts in court documents reveal marital problems between MacCormack and his wife, who was threatening divorce.
“I hate you so much you’ve ruined (the baby’s) life because she won’t have her parents together,” Vanessa wrote in an Aug. 31 text, according to court documents. “I’ll talk to (someone) tomorrow about listing the house and I’ll look into divorce lawyer,” she wrote. MacCormack responded by calling her crazy and saying he’d refuse to sell the house or agree to a divorce.
MacCormack’s lawyer argued on Wednesday that his client was innocent and that cops should be hunting the real killer.
Following the murder, principal Mary Dill of Connery Elementary School released a statement calling Vanessa “a talented, dedicated and passionate educator and a loyal, kind and compassionate friend and colleague.”
“Our school community is heartbroken,” Dill said on the school’s website. “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 and her family.”
