A man, a woman and a dog were all found dead inside a home on Andover Avenue in Attleboro on Wednesday morning, after a 911 call sent first responders rushing to the scene around 11:30 a.m. Attleboro police say the case is currently being investigated as an unattended death.
According to WJAR, Attleboro police confirmed that the three bodies were discovered after a 911 caller prompted the emergency response to the residential street. The Bristol County District Attorney's Office was called in to assist with the investigation, police said.
Why State and County Officials Get Involved
Under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 38, Section 4, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducts an inquiry and takes jurisdiction after determining that further investigation is required. In applicable cases, the district attorney or the DA's law-enforcement representative directs and controls the investigation. The statute also restricts moving the body or disturbing the scene before specified directions are given or attendance occurs.
Massachusetts State Police detectives are assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducts inquiries under state law. No additional information about the case was immediately available.
A City of Nearly 47,000 Facing an Open Question
Attleboro is home to an estimated 46,762 people across 26.8 square miles in Bristol County, with a median household income of $98,954 and a homeownership rate of 66.2 percent, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2024. Wednesday's discovery marks the kind of case that draws on the city's full emergency infrastructure, from its fire department to its nearest hospital.
The Attleboro Fire Department is part of the city's emergency response system.
Not the First Unattended Death Probe in the City
Wednesday's case is not unprecedented for Attleboro. In January 2020, Attleboro police and the Bristol County District Attorney's Office conducted a similar unattended death probe after a 44-year-old local woman was found dead in a residential backyard following a missing-persons report, according to 1420 WBSM. That earlier case is another instance of local and county authorities investigating an unexplained residential death in the city.
The investigation also arrives amid a leadership transition in the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. DA Thomas M. Quinn III, who has led the office since 2015 and previously served as president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, announced in January that he will not seek re-election when his term ends in January 2027, as reported by The New Bedford Light. The Bristol County DA's Office was called to assist with the Andover Avenue investigation.
No further details about the identities of the man and woman, or the circumstances that led to the dog's death, have been released. Attleboro police have not indicated whether they suspect foul play, and official findings on cause and manner of death are expected to come only after the medical examiner completes post-mortem and toxicological testing.
