Public’s help sought after body of Massachusetts woman found in recycling bin at her home

By WCVB Staff

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    MEDFORD, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A woman whose body was found in a recycling bin behind her Medford, Massachusetts, home this week has recently sought a restraining order against her husband, according to court documents.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the body of Barbara Hovey Novaes, 61, was found Monday morning under the back porch of her duplex home at 21 Emery St.

Ryan said the victim’s son, who is in his 20s, called Medford police at about 6:40 a.m. to report that he could not find his mother after waking up. The man said he last saw his mother at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the home, which they shared. He said he believed that at that time that she was going to leave the house to go to a nail appointment.

According to Ryan, Hovey Novaes’ son told police that the front door to the house was left open when he woke up Monday morning. He also said his mother’s car was still on the property and that he found her car keys, phone and purse inside the home.

Medford police then responded to the Emery Street home to investigate. Ryan said a police officer found Hovey Novaes’ body under the porch at about 8:30 a.m.

“Based on the circumstances and the location of the body, this is being investigated as a suspicious death,” Ryan said.

According to documents from Somerville District Court, on May 9, the victim requested a restraining order against her husband, whom she was divorcing.

In her own handwriting, Hovey Novaes described a May 6 incident in which he came to the house multiple times after drinking and wouldn’t leave.

“The conversation then became much more emotional with him not accepting my decision … ” she wrote in an affidavit.

She wrote that she had changed the locks and threatened to call the police.

“I asked him to please leave that I could not speak to him after he was drinking … I remained in my bedroom with a locked door,” she wrote.

The protective order was not issued, and ultimately, withdrawn.

Hovey Novaes was an assistant vice president and branch manager at the Everett Co-Operative Bank.

“Barbara loved her colleagues and customers and prided herself on making everyone she encountered feel welcome, comfortable, and cared for. We will greatly miss her compassionate spirit. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends, and all who knew her,” the band said in a statement.

“Barbara was a stellar employee of the Everett Bank (co-op) here in Everett for many years,” Everett Mayor Carlo DiMaria. “More than just an employee, Barbara treated every person she encountered with kindness and compassion. She was simply a wonderful person who always had a nice thing to say and was always eager to help and support whomever needed it.”

There was a large police presence on Emery Street Monday evening, as the roadway was blocked off and several homes were roped off with crime tape.

The duplex where Hovey Novaes lived is located less than a mile from the Tufts University campus.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of Hovey Novaes’ death. Ryan said the victim’s body had no obvious signs of trauma.

Ryan said investigators are asking anyone who may have been in the Emery Street neighborhood Sunday night or early Monday morning, has video of the area of Emery and Winthrop streets, or has any information should call Medford police at 781-395-1212.

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