Crime12 August, 20263 min read
Acton Police Locate 17-Year-Old Arjun Aravind After Martha Lane Death Investigation
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17-year-old Arjun Aravind located and in custody. Acton police found an adult woman and a teenage boy dead at Martha Lane.
Deaths in Acton
Acton police responded to a well-being check on Martha Lane at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday and found an adult woman and a teenage boy dead inside the home, while investigators sought 17-year-old Arjun Aravind, described as a third member of the household.
“Officers entered the home and found an adult woman and a teenage boy dead.”
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the victims and Aravind are related, and she described the case as a death investigation while cause and manner of death remained under investigation.
Authorities believed Arjun Aravind took the car owned by the woman who died, and a green 2014 Honda Accord with Massachusetts license plate 34P-D94 was found in a parking lot on Andrew Avenue in Wayland overnight.
ABC News reported that Ryan later announced Aravind had been located and added, "there is no risk to public safety."
The investigation involved Acton police and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, and officials said they were expected to provide more information at a 1 p.m. ET news conference.
Custody and charges
After an overnight search, law enforcement authorities said they located Arjun Aravind, and WBUR reported that Ryan posted on social media that he "has been located and there is no risk to public safety." NBC Boston later reported that the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office announced Arjun Aravind had been charged with murder, and it said investigators found he was using ChatGPT to make searches about the killing of his family. In a statement quoted by NBC Boston, Ryan said, "The investigation has so far shown that Arjun had recently been demonstrating some disturbing behavior" including using the internet and ChatGPT.
NBC Boston also said law enforcement was looking for a green 2014 Honda Accord with Massachusetts plates reading "34PD94," and it reported the vehicle was found overnight in nearby Wayland and towed back to the Acton Police Department. CBS News reported that Aravind was taken into custody Wednesday and that Ryan said, "We have no information at this point as to the cause or the manner of death," at a news conference late Tuesday night.
Search across towns
The search expanded beyond Acton, with Ryan confirming that police activity at a Hudson shopping plaza was connected to the Acton investigation, even as authorities had not explained what investigators were looking for there or whether anything was recovered.
MetroWest Daily News reported that Hudson Police said they, Berlin Police and other agencies responded to the Shops at Highland Commons area in connection to the Acton investigation, and it said they did not find Aravind.
NBC Boston said police in Berlin searched the area of the L.L.Bean at Highland Commons after a cell phone ping suggested Aravind may have been in the area, but he was not found there.
CBS News included a neighbor’s account that police knocked on his door around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and that he saw "a fire truck, an ambulance, cruisers and there were police officers walking up and down the street obviously looking for someone or something," while he said, "It's tragic and it makes you sick."
With Aravind in custody and a 1 p.m. media availability expected, officials said the investigation was ongoing and that more information about the case was expected to be revealed by Ryan and Acton Police Chief Douglas Sturniolo.