A 37-year-old Taunton man is facing a murder charge after police found his girlfriend unresponsive at the base of a staircase inside his townhouse on Friday. Matthew Cruz was arrested at his Allcot Circle residence following the discovery of 37-year-old Shannon Smith, who was later pronounced dead at Morton Hospital.
According to Boston 25 News, Taunton police responded to the Allcot Circle address shortly before 1 p.m. on September 18 after receiving reports of an unconscious woman. Officers arrived to find Smith at the base of a staircase inside the townhouse and rushed her to Morton Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Smith lived in Bridgewater and was in a relationship with Cruz, the outlet reports.
The Bristol County District Attorney's Office reported Cruz's arrest and the murder charge, according to the same report. He was taken into custody at his own residence on Allcot Circle and was expected to be arraigned Friday. The station's report does not detail the specific evidence or circumstances that led investigators to bring the charge.
What Remains Unknown
Several details of the case have not been made public. It is not yet known how the arraignment proceeded, what plea, if any, Cruz entered, or whether he remains in custody. No statement has been released from Cruz, an attorney representing him, Smith's family, Taunton police, or the district attorney's office beyond confirmation of the arrest itself.
A Statewide Pattern of Rising Cases
The case adds to a troubling statewide trend. Domestic-violence-related murders and non-negligent manslaughters in Massachusetts climbed nearly 20 percent in 2024, reaching 31 incidents compared with 26 the year before, per WWLP. That same year, Massachusetts law enforcement agencies logged 26,297 domestic-violence offenses statewide, the outlet reported.
Domestic-violence-related intimidation also rose by about 8 percent in 2024, even as simple and aggravated assault categories saw slight declines, according to the Boston Herald. The figures show increases in some domestic-violence categories even as other categories ease.
A Separate Case With a Similar Name in Taunton
In an unrelated case from the same city, a man named Raymond Cruz, 32, pleaded guilty on the eve of his scheduled trial to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault and battery, and strangulation after assaulting his girlfriend, according to WPRI. Surveillance footage in that case reportedly showed Cruz dragging his girlfriend down a staircase, beating her with a belt, strangling her on the kitchen floor and locking her out of the home, the station reported. He was sentenced to four to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised probation. No family connection between Raymond Cruz and Matthew Cruz is established here, and the two cases remain entirely separate.
