GREENFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Two people charged with what a prosecutor called the “savage” and “senseless” killing of a 95-year-old Massachusetts man during a home invasion have been held without bail.
Joshua Hart and Brittany Smith, both of Athol, pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at their arraignment Thursday in Franklin Superior Court.
Their court-appointed attorneys refused comment.
Authorities say the 23-year-old Hart and the 27-year-old fatally beat and stabbed Thomas Harty and seriously injured his wife, 77-year-old Joanna Fisher, during an Oct. 5 home invasion in Orange.
Fisher died in November and whether her death was caused by injuries sustained during the home invasion remains under investigation.
Prosecutors say the suspects wanted to steal a car and money so they could leave Massachusetts and avoid charges in an unrelated case.
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