According to a Law and Crime report on Monday, September 18, 2023, a 27-year-old New Hampshire man, Grant DeGiacomo, has been indicted on two alternative counts of second-degree murder for allegedly beating his mother to death inside their shared home.
The fatal attack occurred on July 5, 2023 in the town of Hudson.
According to authorities, police responded to a 911 call on July 6 about a possible domestic disturbance at the home Grant shared with his mother, 57-year-old Christine DeGiacomo.
When officers arrived, they found Christine suffering from severe traumatic injuries. She was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
An autopsy determined Christine’s cause of death to be blunt force trauma to her head, chest and abdomen.
Grant was arrested and accused of repeatedly striking his mother in the head, killing her in circumstances showing extreme indifference to human life.
A neighbor who shared a wall with Christine said he heard arguing next door that night which quickly escalated.
He then heard Christine screaming for her life, prompting him to call 911 within 30 seconds.
This was not Grant’s first violent incident. In 2020, he was arrested for firing a handgun recklessly inside the home while drunk.
He pleaded guilty and was ordered to complete substance abuse treatment.
Grant is being held without bond pending arraignment later this month.
He faces decades in prison if convicted of beating his mother to death.
The vicious attack has shocked the small town of Hudson.
Christine’s neighbor described the escalation he heard – from a typical argument to violent sounds and Christine screaming.
With no bail, Grant will await trial in jail, a rare circumstance in New Hampshire which normally grants bail.
The charges indicate prosecutors find the evidence against Grant to be strong in this tragic matricide case.
Second-degree murder implies the killing was not premeditated, but still intentional and reckless.
The alleged weapon – Grant’s bare hands – provides additional chilling details about the brutal nature of the crime.
At only 27 years old, Grant has already shown a propensity for violence and substance abuse.
The 2020 gun incident foreshadowed the potential danger he posed to those around him.
Christine DeGiacomo’s murder has devastated her community, where she was known as a caring mother devoted to her only son, despite his troubled history.
Her violent death inside her own home has left many questioning how this could happen.
Domestic violence continues to be a pressing issue, representing a large percentage of violent crime annually.
The pandemic exacerbated stresses inside families and may have played a role in escalating tensions in the DeGiacomo home.
As the legal process moves forward, questions will likely remain about what specifically triggered such brutal violence by a son against his own mother.
But the deepest questions surround how a beloved mother’s life could be cut short so tragically and so suddenly.
