Massachusetts State Police took a Texas woman into custody on Wednesday at a highway rest stop in Chelmsford in connection with the death of her son.

Julianne McCrery of Irving, Texas was detained on Interstate 495 southbound and questioned by investigators from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

She has since been charged with second degree murder.

Her young son, Camden Pierce Hughes, was found dead on a secluded road in South Berwick, Maine, on Saturday.

According to police, McCrery killed her son in New Hampshire and dumped the body in Maine.

The cause of the young boy’s death was preliminarily determined to be asphyxiation, according to police.

David Procopio, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman, said McCrery was transported to a local hospital for “medical evaluation” late Wednesday afternoon, and that “a development” in the case had placed it under the jurisdiction of the New Hampshire attorney general’s office.

McCrery was picked up after State Police received a tip from a citizen that at 10:20 a.m. a pickup truck was parked at the Chelmsford rest stop that looked like the vehicle seen near the location where Hughes’ body was dumped, according to Procopio.

The vehicle is being examined at a State Police facility in Danvers.

Spurred by a naval insignia near the license plate of the vehicle, Maine authorities had asked the military to help with the case. International law enforcement agents were also called in, as authorities could not identify the boy for several days.

Three New Hampshire men have been arrested and charged in connection with the killing of Krista Dittmeyer, the 20-year-old mother whose body was found earlier this month in a pond.

Robbery appears to be the motive, police said.

Anthony Papile, age 28, of Ossipee has been charged with second degree murder, and Trevor Ferguson, age 23, of Tamworth and Michael Petelis, age 28, of Ossipee have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, said New Hampshire Attorney General Michael A. Delaney, in a statement Wednesday morning.

Arraignments have been scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Ossipee District Court.

Dittmeyer’s car and infant daughter were abandoned in a New Hampshire ski resort parking lot. The car was still running and had its hazard lights flashing. Her body was found days later.

Singer Aly Spaltro, who goes by the stage name Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, may hail from Portland, Maine, but it’s Boston that has adopted the 21-year-old startup musician as a hometown darling.

Spaltro, who has self-released a handful of albums but is not signed to a label, was named Folk Act of the Year at the Boston Music Awards in December. She’s since found a cheerleader in Act of the Year winner and local icon Amanda Palmer, who Tweeted after the ceremony, “chick blew me away live. look up her stuff.”

Spaltro recently wrapped up a series of dates as the opening act for Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield, and will support Faces on Film at Berklee’s Café 939 Thursday night.

Those who catch one of her live performances will be able to pick up a copy of her latest offering, “Mammoth Swoon”(most of the other recordings are available through her website) — a mish-mash of bedroom and live versions of songs in demo form. It’s country and folk influences that come through most prominently on the collection, although she tiptoes into PJ Harvey territory on the best-produced track, “Between Two Trees.” Cuts like “Crane Your Neck,” the aching “Aubergine” and the 10-minute pairing “Up in the Rafters/Bird Balloons” (“songs of longing,” she describes them) showcase Spaltro’s gift for heartwrenching, pining torch songs and her passionate, often raspy singing style. An early interest in poetry is evident in her lyrics, which refuse to rely on tired, sentimental clichés. “Absence makes the heart grow hollow/Make me into an egg without yolk,” she sings on “Aubergine.”

While the album consists primarily of rough cuts, the underlying quality of the songs themselves is undeniable, and it should be enough to sate the ravenous appetite for Spaltro’s music fans are sure to walk away with after seeing one of her captivating live performances. Because it’s on stage that Spaltro really shines. During a show earlier this month at New York City’s tiny Rockwood Music Hall, armed with only a guitar and a small amplifier, the unassuming, diminutive brunette had the audience in the palm of her hand. Her songs took on a haunting quality in such an intimate setting, even as she offered disarmingly friendly banter between songs.

Spaltro recently chatted with Blast about her early exposure to music (some might consider it a predestined career choice when members of Creedence Clearwater Revival hold jam sessions in your childhood living room), plans for 2011, and origin of her stage moniker.

BLAST: Did music play a big part in your life growing up?

ALY SPALTRO: My dad is actually a really killer musician. He’s a lead guitarist (and) used to make his own CDs. He didn’t really give them to anyone besides his friends and family, but I remember him sort of sitting there layering all the instruments that a full band would have, and making his own songs. He was randomly friends with members of CCR. … Whenever they played the place that we lived, they would come over and, like, have a jam session with my dad … which I was just really curious about as a kid. I would sit in and listen. Also, my next door neighbor when I was five was this 13-year-old named Lacey, and she got me into The Beatles when I was in kindergarten. And I just fell in love. I was obsessed with The White Album and I used to just sit there for hours and listen to The Beatles and oldies on the radio.

BLAST: Who are some of your musical influences? Did you have a defining moment when you knew music was going to play a significant role in your future?

AS: The Beatles were my first influence. I was really into Diana Ross & the Supremes, and The Mamas & the Papas, and The Isley Brothers and stuff like that. And then what really kind of re-changed my life as I got older (was), when I was 14, I went to a record store when I had just moved to Maine, and I randomly bought Neutral Milk Hotel’s first record, because I really liked the album art. … I brought it home and it just floored me. At that point in time, it was exactly what I had been searching for. And it kind of felt like I had to search no more, like it was all right there in front of me in Neutral Milk Hotel. And from then on, I started becoming really inspired by Jeff Mangum’s lyrics, which kind of prompted me into doing spoken word poetry and things like that in high school, before I started playing music. That really was, like, that moment for me. And it would be a few more years before I’d actually start playing music, but that sort of re-awakened a passion in me for listening to music.

BLAST: When did you begin writing your own songs?

AS: Poetry and spoken word was my main passion. But then, when I had just turned 18, I was really seeking more fulfillment. I wanted a challenge. I wanted to really invest myself in something big, something that would take all of me and something that I could hone in on and spend my time on and work really hard on. And I was passionate about the words I was writing, so I thought the next step would be to teach myself how to play some instruments. And I didn’t sing. I didn’t have any background in singing, besides to music I liked in the shower and in the car and things like that. But it just felt like the next thing to do. So I was going through this period where I was really miserable and wanted to get out of it, and found that singing really helped. And so I taught myself guitar and put all my words to music.

BLAST: How did you come up with the name Lady Lamb the Beekeeper?

AS: Three years ago, when I started playing, I was having trouble sleeping, because I was just so excited about what I was doing. Making the songs was so new and exciting that I couldn’t even wait to, like, get up and start working. So I was essentially recording a song a day for days and days and days, just working all day and night and finishing a track, and then starting a new one. And so, in my sleep, I was having very vivid dreams and I was also, at the same time, sort of writing lyrics in my sleep. And it was driving me a little crazy, because I kept waking myself up and really wanting to write them down. So I started keeping a notebook for lyrics so I could scribble down while I was dreaming them up or whatever, and then to also just double as a journal to just scrawl down phrases and visuals from my dreams, because they were inspiring me as well. And “Lady Lamb the Beekeeper” was written in my notebook one morning when I woke up. I have no recollection of what I was thinking of or dreaming of when I wrote it down. But sure enough, there it was. It was right around the same time when I was making recordings and wanted to put them together on a CD. And I wanted to have a moniker, so it felt like the most perfect fit.

BLAST: Congratulations on your win at the Boston Music Awards. What was that experience like?

AS: I love Boston. I feel so honored to have won that award. I had been working really hard for a year, trying to play as many shows in Boston as I could while living in Maine, and sort of building a fanbase there. And I realized that the Boston scene felt just as much like home as home did. The bands and the people that come out to shows, everyone’s so supportive and warm. I kept seeing the same faces and ended up making good friends playing in the Boston area. So I’m really excited to continue playing in Boston and play bigger shows there.

BLAST: What’s going to be your focus for 2011?

AS: This year, I really need to make my record. That’s the main thing. I think by early spring I’ll have figured that out. I’d like to do it in Maine. I just need proper equipment to be able to produce my next record so it sounds professional. I don’t have huge plans or huge hopes. It’s not my overall dream to be signed. I’m not doing what I’m doing now to get a record deal. I don’t have too much faith in that side of things right now. … I don’t know what’ll really happen (but) I think so far I’ve done pretty well on my own.

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper plays with Faces on Film at 8pm Thursday at Café 939, 939 Boylston St. Tickets are $12.

A volunteer firefighter from the Shapleigh, Maine department died last night in a single vehicle accident while responding to a call.

David Remington, 58, of Acton, was responding to a rescue call when he lost control of his truck and crashed, according to FireFighterCloseCalls.com.

Remington was ejected and killed instantly, pronounced dead at the scene. It appears that he was not wearing his seat belt at the time.

Police are investigating the accident; the cause is still under investigation.

Shapleigh has a 27-member volunteer department and responds to one call every other day, according to the town website.

We did more than just drink at 11 o’clock in the morning at the 2010 Boston Wine Expo. We pigged out on free food and cheese too.

Barber Foods calls their products, including an assortment of frozen stuffed chicken entrees “dinner rescued.”

For once, there’s truth in advertising.

Now, it’s hard NOT to like food, any food, after you’ve been sampling some three or four dozen types of wine, including several delectable Portos. So we can’t just jump in and say “Barber frozen stuffed chicken entrees are awesome.”

Cause, like, they were. Awesome. They were really, really good.

The sad thing about lots of the foods and wines we tried at the 2010 Boston Wine Expo was the fact that many of them just aren’t available in New England yet — that’s why they’re at the expo in the first place.

Barber, a Maine-based company, is lucky. You can buy their food at any local Stop & Shop or Star Market/Shaws here in the Boston area.

So I bought a few packages of broccoli and cheese and chicken parm entrees.

And therefore, after sampling Barber Foods both tipsyly and soberly, I can now unequivocally say with a degree of certainly that Barber frozen stuffed chicken entrees are awesome.

They don’t taste like you might expect a frozen dinner entree to taste. They don’t taste processed and cheap. The breading is crunchy, the chicken is white and fresh, not mealy as many frozen dinners tend to be. The stuffing is fresh and fragrant. I was honestly impressed, because frozen dinner has such a horrible reputation for cheapness and low quality. I guess they’ve saved both dinner and their genre.

Barber also makes an assortment of chicken tenders and nuggets. Barber’s stuffed chicken sells for $4.99 for a 2-pack, or $9.99 for a 4-pack.

We have a $1 off coupon for the first Blast registered user who shares either their Boston Wine Expo story or their favorite chicken dinner story in the comments section.

Erica J. Marcus, of the Blast staff, contributed to this report by eating.

He really, really wanted to drive away.

According to the Bangor Daily News, Michael Harman, 48, of Millinocket, Maine was none too happy with getting a boot placed on his pickup truck. So he tried to drive away anyway.

In an effort to scofflaw three unpaid parking tickets, Harman damaged a $500 “Denver Boot” device that he will be responsible for replacing.

He also didn’t get away. Police arrived, and the truck was seriously damaged in the failed attempt to reenact a famous scene from The Simpsons.

Homer also damaged the family car, if you’ll remember, but he got away.

Doh.

If you’re looking for that gift with a “wow!” factor keep reading this article. Amongst the many things businesses pull together for the holiday season- Christmas albums, special edition DVDs, all-inclusive travel deals- it seems amazing that a new company from Maine is outdoing them all.

Catch a Piece of Maine was founded by two brothers,‚ Brendan and‚ John Ready,‚ who after being raised in the lobstering community decided to get their own boat and start catching lobsters‚ after high school. Fortunately for them, their parents encouraged a higher education. After going to universities in Boston and getting degrees in business, they put their newfound knowledge to work.‚ 

They founded a company, Ready Inc., and created a new way to sell lobsters by offering ownership of a lobsterman’s trap to get 13 lobster baskets direct from the fisher for a year.‚ 

“We are a community supported fishing model that is relevant for the Maine lobster industry. In the past 50 years there has been very little change and what we can offer is the quality product with the experiential value,” explained John Ready.

Each basket includes four pound-and-a half lobsters, pound of steamer clams, pound of mussels and four servings of typical Maine desserts like blueberry brownies or whoopee-pies. ‚ The shipments also bring a photo and story of the lobsterman who works the trap; a map of where the trap is located; a personalized note from the lobsterman telling how the fishing went; next day delivery, classic lobster-printed white bibs and, last but not least, a call form the lobsterman himself the night of delivery to ensure costumers are happy with their bounty.‚ 

‚ Aside from canceling third parties, trap holders establish a relationship with those who run their trap and learn what the real lobstering life is about.‚ It may sound like too much razzle-dazzle but this personal treatment is what sets the Ready brothers apart, selling more than two million pounds of lobster annually.

“We have customers who really look forward to receiving their call the night of their delivery. They have dinners on that day and its not strange to be put on speakerphone to join the party, people love being involved, they like to know they form a part of what we do,” said Ready.

Their business model has helped create a feeling of togetherness amongst the lobstermen, something that Ready said is not often found. Not only that, it is creating jobs in an ailing industry and encouraging consumers to continue buying the clawed crustacean. The yearlong share costs $3,000 but there are other options that have become as big sellers as the yearly “subscription.”

“We are here to please you, I just had a call from a woman who said, “ËœI love lobster tails, send me 20 by this date’ and we did. Our consumers like experiential gifts so we have an array of smaller custom made options to never say “Ëœno’ and give them the same experience,” Ready said.

One of those options is the $250 “Lobster Share” pack. ‚ It includes the same four hard shell lobsters, steamer clams, ‚ mussels and Maine made desserts and personalized messages as the shareholders monthly basket does. It also comes with the popular call from the lobsterman‚ who caught your delicious dinner.‚ 

If you don’ know whether or not a person likes lobsters, the business on-line store also offers Catch a Piece of Maine gear gift certificates and a colorful 2009 calendar filed with Maine scenery and lobstermen’s photos.

In a time when the lobster industry is in decline this company has grown at an amazing rate. The difference being in that the brothers use their salesman skills effectively to help revitalize the lobstering community and make a profit along the way.‚ 

“We grew up in this lifestyle, because catching and selling lobsters really is a lifestyle. When we see the men that we looked up to as children struggling to pay bills or make things work we’re not only concerned with making a business successful, we’re concerned for our family,” Ready shared.‚  “This is what other people see too and by getting even a small piece of it they know their gift will be unique and that our community will keep going.”

Whether your holiday list is on a budget or not, the custom packages and apparel from these Mainers are special options to consider. Because, if you think about it, who else can boast after New Years that the “lobsterman called, wanting to make sure you got your lobsters alright” at the office?

Get your own piece of Main by sending an email to Giveaways@BlastMagazine.com with your contact information by January 1st to win the lobstermen’s 2009 calendar!