Jeffrey MacDonald of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, was arraigned Thursday morning in connection with the murder of his wife last night inside the hotel on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
MacDonald and his wife were both employees of UMass Amherst, according to a statement from the Northwest District Attorney’s office.
Thursday morning at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, Mass., MacDonald pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder and one charge of assault and battery upon a police officer.
Judge Rebecca Michaels ordered MacDonald held without bail and continued the case to May 12.
In an email to the university campus before MacDonald was named, Chancellor Javier Reyes said “It is with deep sadness that I share that last night, the University of Massachusetts Police Department and the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office responded to a suspected homicide of a UMass Amherst staff member,” said university Chancellor Javier Reyes.
Reyes acknowledged the news was “heartbreaking and deeply unsettling news for our campus.”
The incident remains under active investigation by the UMass Amherst Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, and the Massachusetts Crime Scene Services Section.
The official cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
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