A 50-year-old Chelsea woman was found dead in her driveway early Tuesday morning, and her husband has been arrested for beating her, police said.
A passerby found Theresa Wilkes lying in the driveway of her home at 123 Maverick St. around 6 a.m., said Captain Keith Houghton, a Chelsea Police spokesman.
Shortly after Wilkes was found, an investigation led police to her husband, Frederick Wilkes, 54. While Houghton did not detail the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident, he said that Frederick was arrested for domestic assault and battery on his wife. He will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Chelsea District Court.
Police have a history with the Wilkes family. On September 16, Frederick was arrested for assaulting his wife with a dangerous weapon. Theresa did not pursue a restraining order at the time, police said.
According to police, alcohol was involved in Theresa’s death, both for her and Frederick.
Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said State Troopers from their office are investigating. Conley investigates unattended deaths in Chelsea and other parts of Suffolk County, including state property in Boston.
An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is expected to determine the cause of death.
After a homicide-free year in 2009, Chelsea has had at least a half dozen homicides.
This latest death follows a startling trend of domestic homicides all over Massachusetts.
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