A judge has extended the indictment of a man who allegedly killed his grandmother in Easton in September with a hammer.
According to court documents, Judge Lawrence MacLeod Jr., sitting in Grafton County Superior Court, granted the request of Attorney General John Formella on Nov. 25 to move the deadline for the indictment of Joshua Lanchester, 23, from Dec. 20, 2024, to Feb. 28, 2025.
The reason for the extension, wrote Formella, was because “Investigators have additional follow-up that needs to be completed.”
Additionally, the state wants the extra time, said Formella, “to afford the parties time to discuss a potential pre-indictment resolution and/or the trajectory of this matter.”
There are no documents that describe the possible “resolution” of the charge against Lanchester and the probable-cause warrant remains sealed.
Lanchester is being held without bail on one count of second-degree murder for recklessly causing the death of Cynthia Lanchester, 76, with a deadly weapon, a hammer, the Attorney General’s Office has said.
The Attorney General's Office announced Sept. 28 that his office was investigating a suspicious death of an adult female, later identified as Cynthia Lanchester, at a residence located at 44 North Peak Drive in Easton which, according to Town of Easton assessing records, has been owned by Henry R. and Cynthia Lanchester since 2013.
Formella said that at 11:41 a.m. Sept. 28, 911 dispatch received a call for a medical emergency at 44 North Peak Drive , and that upon arrival, State Police found Cynthia Lanchester laying on the ground, deceased.
State Police also encountered Joshua Lanchester at the scene and later arrested him.
Subsequently, Formella disclosed that Cynthia Lanchester's autopsy determined that she died from blunt-force trauma to the head, and the manner of death was homicide.
Lanchester was killed just a little more than a month after her husband of more than 50 years, Henry R. Lanchester, 83, died at their home on Aug. 13, 2024, according to his obituary.
The couple had three children and six grandchildren.
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