Woman accused of shooting and killing parents outside home in Bedford, Massachusetts

BEDFORD – A woman accused of shooting and killing her parents Thursday morning in Bedford, Massachusetts, has been ordered held without bail.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Marian Ryan said Jessica Cavallaro, 24, shot her parents in a car outside a home on Washington Street just after 9 a.m.

His mother, aged 56, died. His father, also 56, was rushed to hospital where he died a short time later. They were identified as Thelma Tatten and Mark Cavallaro.

Prosecutors said the couple was planning to take their daughter to breakfast when she shot them in the head.

“Of course you never want to see someone killed or injured in a neighborhood,” neighbor Peter Burke said. “When it’s in your own backyard, it’s a little more shocking.”

What would have happened in Bedford

The prosecutor said Cavallaro lived in the house with her boyfriend's family. After the shooting, Ryan said Cavallaro entered the home and told someone to call 911. A handgun was found at the scene and Cavallaro was arrested. She did not have a license to carry the weapon, the prosecutor said.

Cavallaro is charged with murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and unlawful possession of a firearm. She was arraigned in Concord District Court Thursday afternoon and was ordered held without bail. She will also undergo a psychiatric evaluation. She is due back in court on August 20.

Ryan said Cavallaro's parents also lived in Bedford. The couple's landlord, Bob Kurker, called their deaths “shocking.”

It is not yet clear what the motive for the shooting was.

“It’s a small town so we all know each other and know each other,” neighbor Zoey Kramer said. “It’s really, really scary.”

“Horrible incidents”

“As you all know, I've seen you far too often lately,” Ryan told reporters at a news conference. “These are horrific incidents of domestic violence. They also highlight what we talk about all the time, which is the prevalence of guns and the availability of guns. Many of the incidents we've had over the past weeks, of the last two months, months, have involved guns in the hands of people who should not have had them.

Bedford police said Washington Street would be closed for the afternoon.