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Report: Multiple arrests possible in Lunenburg, Mass., racist graffiti case
Multiple arrests are “very possible” in the Lunenburg (Mass.) racist graffiti case that has gripped the small New England town, the Boston Herald is reporting.
"The bottom line is, we’re trying to be careful. Trying to do our job and be impartial,” Lunenburg Police Chief James Marino told the Herald, declining to identify suspects specifically.
The case was sparked when the home of a bi-racial couple in the town was spray-painted with racial slurs last month. The family’s son was an eighth-grader on the Lunenburg HS football team.
Initial reaction put the blame on the high school football team, which saw one game canceled and eventually the remainder of its season.
This week, however, it was revealed that the members of the team were no longer suspected of the crime.
Marino told the Herald investigators are “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s” days after court documents pointed towards the boy’s mother as a suspect.
On Tuesday, the home of Andrea Brazier and Anthony Phillips was searched. Those investigators removed a bag of evidence, reportedly two cans of spray paint and rounds of live ammunition. They also sought samples of Brazier’s handwriting.
Marino revealed Friday that police are also awaiting crime-lab results from samples of spray paint taken during the investigation.
Isaac Phillips, the 13-year-old son of Brazier and Phillips, was transferred to the Leominster school system by his mother after the investigation began.
The investigation took a twist this week when it was revealed Brazier gave cops conflicting stories about when she spotted the racial slur, and that she stopped cooperating with the probe on Nov. 25, when detectives asked her to make a formal written statement.
“Andrea stated that her son Isaac was doing good at the Leominster middle school and she wanted the investigation to end,” states the court papers, written in support of Tuesday’s search warrant.
An FBI agent then accused Brazier of spray-painting the message herself, to which she replied, “OK,” according to the filings. The agent also asked her whether her husband or son was responsible, to which she replied, “No.”
Marino said Brazier has not spoken to police since cops searched her home.
“We’re not going to make mistakes,” Marino told the Herald. “The whole town’s been affected by this. We’re trying to do the best we can for the whole entire town.”
