A violent encounter between a father and son preceded the removal of multiple children from a Medway, Massachusetts, home last month, according to documents obtained by the NBC10 Boston Investigators.
As we reported on February 23, social workers removed seven children between the ages of 3 and 16 from a home on Holliston Street and police spent the day gathering evidence.
Medway Police Chief William Kingsbury told reporters that day he could not share specific details about the situation while it remained under investigation.
However, court records the NBC10 Investigators reviewed shed light on a tumultuous environment in the days leading up to the removal of the children.
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According to a Medway police report, officers responded to the home on the night of February 16 and found the aftermath of a bloody encounter between Thomas Logan, 55, and his 27-year-old son, Matthew Logan.
Witnesses told police that Matthew Logan was watching television in the home with his girlfriend and 29-year-old brother when his father entered the room with a metal flashlight and tried to attack his son.
After Matthew Logan fought off his father, Thomas Logan allegedly returned from the kitchen holding two knives.
Witnesses told police Matthew Logan wrestled the knives away from his father and then started punching him repeatedly in the head. At one point, Thomas Logan’s wife tried to intervene and break up the fight, but was also struck in the face during the struggle, according to the report.
Police arrived at the chaotic scene, unsure of what was transpiring inside the home after the frantic 911 call placed by Matthew Logan’s girlfriend, who was holding the couple’s young child when officers got to the home.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
One officer reported scaling an elevated patio and arresting Matthew Logan. Another officer kicked in a door and found Thomas Logan bleeding extensively from the head.
Witnesses told police that Matthew Logan had a tattoo on his face of his deceased brother’s birthday, which seemed to spark the anger from Thomas Logan.
In a video posted on Facebook the day after the altercation, Matthew Logan corroborated that detail and described the fight with his father.
“My dad tried to assault me in front of my woman and my baby,” Matthew Logan said in the video. “He tried to assault me with a flashlight and I just decked the (expletive) out of him and he was instantly bleeding.”
According to the report, 12 people live at the home on Holliston Street and many of the children were sleeping in their rooms when the violent struggle erupted.
The father and son were each charged with felony counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Matthew Logan was wearing two large gold rings on his hand during the fight, which contributed to his father’s injuries, according to the report.
Matthew Logan was arraigned on February 20 and released on $540 bail with an order not to contact his parents. Thomas Logan was treated at the hospital after the fight and will be arraigned on March 28.
A source familiar with the case told NBC10 that the removal of children was not directly related to the fight on February 16, but instead allegations that surfaced during an investigation following that incident.
On February 26, Julie Logan sought a restraining order against her son, Matthew. In her affidavit, the mother wrote that her son struggled with several mental health disorders and had not been taking his prescribed medication.
Julie Logan also said her son had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and his mental state had declined in recent weeks. The mother said she feared for her safety.
“My son recently assaulted my husband leaving him unconscious in a pool of blood,” Julie Logan wrote. “Given his diagnosis and the seriousness of it, there’s not a way of predicting his unstable behavior.”
NBC10 reached out to the parents, Thomas and Julie, to ask about the altercation or any perspective they could provide about the ongoing law enforcement investigation. They have not responded to messages left at the phone numbers listed in police reports.
When reached by phone, Matthew Logan declined to comment.
In their summary of the fight on February 16, police officers indicated they were familiar with the family and had been to the address on multiple occasions for medical emergencies, noise complaints, and an assault on a family member.
According to calls for service to the home on Holliston Street, police have been to the home more than a dozen times since the family purchased it in 2016.
In one report from February 2019, Thomas Logan called police and said “he just saw five lights go over his house but could not hear any sounds.” An officer who responded to the house said Logan showed him a video taken on his cellphone.
In another report from May 2020, a caller told police that Thomas Logan was standing outside his house shouting obscenities at people. Records show that Logan also called police in June 2022 to report a neighbor who had taken a photo of his trash sitting out by the curb.
On Monday, Chief Kingsbury told NBC10 the situation remains under investigation and there were no new details he could share with the public.
A spokesperson for DCF said the agency could not comment because of state and federal privacy requirements.
