Massachusetts

Athol Man Charged With Murder of Woman Found Near Wastewater Plant

A man has been arrested and charged with the murder of a woman found dead near a wastewater treatment plant in Athol, Massachusetts.

Keith Hamel, a 23-year-old Athol man, was arrested Monday, according to the Northwestern District Attorney's Office.

Hamel is accused of killing 26-year-old Kelsey Clifford of Leominster, who was found near the entrance to the facility on Jones Street last Monday.

Authorities said Hamel was being held without bail. He is due to be arraigned Tuesday at Orange District Court.

Police on the scene after Clifford's body was found were focusing their investigation on the driveway leading up to the facility on Jones Street.

A man who did not want to be identified told NBC10 Boston Monday that he knows the woman who died.

"I only met her a couple times. She had been hanging around my girl's son. He had been hanging around his house for two weeks now, I think," the man said.

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