WEYMOUTH — A 20-year-old man was accused of killing his father Monday in a domestic dispute that ended with family members huddled in the street around the elder man’s beaten body, authorities said.
Emergency responders arrived shortly after 2 p.m. to find Ronald Beaudry, 58, lying in the road outside his Cross Street home, his wife and at least one other family member by his side, authorities said. Beaudry had sustained severe injuries to his head and died a short time later at South Shore Hospital of blunt force trauma.
His son, Michael Beaudry, was arrested and charged with murder. He will be arraigned Tuesday in Quincy District Court.
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Investigators found a piece of PVC pipe and a propane cylinder near Beaudry’s body, said Michael Morrissey, the Norfolk district attorney, at an evening press conference at the Weymouth police station. Investigators had not determined whether they were used in the attack, he said.
Authorities said the dispute began inside the home before spilling outside, but provided no more details about the altercation or any motive.
Morrissey did not say whether Michael Beaudry was at the scene when police arrived.
Police had previous contact with Michael Beaudry on “at least two occasions” over the past two years, said Richard Grimes, the town’s police chief. Grimes did not describe the circumstances, but said they did not necessarily involve the Beaudry home.
Police called in the State Police bomb squad after discovering a potentially hazardous device, but the threat “was resolved,” Morrissey said.
Neighbors said they were stunned by the elder Beaudry’s death, and said there were no outward signs of trouble.
“I never seen any problem between [Michael] and his father,” said Dennis Antonowicz, 65. “He was a good kid, and the father was a good dad. I can’t believe it happened.”
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Antonowicz was home taking care of his 2-year-old grandson and did not leave the house when he heard the commotion outside.
“It’s a sad day,” he said. “They were such nice people.”
Next door, Dennis Antonowicz’s brother Steve and his wife, Kathy, remembered Ronald Beaudry as a good neighbor, and said the Beaudry home seemed peaceful. Their daughter, now 30, had played with the Beaudrys’ older daughter when they were children.
“It’s a tragedy,” Kathy Antonowicz said.
Another neighbor who recently moved to to the area said he had met Ronald Beaudry just days before. “He was talking about all kinds of stuff that happens here on the spring,” said the neighbor, who gave his name only as Josh. “They [the community] do all kinds of events and stuff.”
Around 5 p.m. Monday, Shirley Beaudry, Ronald Beaudry’s wife, stood with police outside her home, her eyes red with tears. On the front door, a Christmas wreath still hung.
Monday’s death comes less than two years after a Weymouth teenager, Donald Rudolph, was charged with killing his mother, sister, and his mother’s boyfriend with knives and a hammer.
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Jeremy Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.