Nedra Thomas-Mattox, 38, was the victim of “a history of domestic violence” with her husband and confessed killer, Antoine D. Mattox, according to Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda.
The commissioner and Detective Chief Dennis J. Richards said the couple’s landlord called police after finding Thomas-Mattox’s body in a rear bedroom of their home on Andover Avenue in the city’s Bailey-Kensington neighborhood.
Northeast District police arrived at the scene at about 3:25 p.m. Monday and found the couple’s 10-year-old son home. Richards said their other child, a daughter, was at school.
The police commissioner said Tuesday that Mattox was arrested Monday afternoon at a Rochester bus terminal and that he confessed to killing his wife as homicide detectives drove him back to Buffalo.
Derenda said the Andover Avenue home was “a very graphic and brutal scene” of violence.
Because of what Richards called “excellent cooperation from people in the area,” the first officers at the death scene learned that Antoine Mattox was seen fleeing the house on foot at about 1:30 p.m. Monday. An areawide “person of interest” police alert was broadcast for him, and Rochester police took him into custody at the Greyhound Bus Station in that city.
Derenda and Richards said Mattox was believed to have been on his way to Virginia when the bus he apparently boarded in Buffalo sometime midafternoon Monday stopped in Rochester to pick up other passengers. Police officials did not disclose the reason for his possible trip to Virginia.
The police commissioner and chief of detectives said that Detectives Anthony Borrelli and Mario T. Pratts formally charged Antoine Mattox with second-degree murder Tuesday. They said Detective Sgt. James P. Lonergan and Detectives James A. Lema, Reginald Minor and Salvatore A. Valso played active roles in the fast-moving investigation leading up to the arrest.
Richards said investigators still were trying to piece together the events that led to Nedra Thomas-Mattox’s death. He said the Mattox children were taken into protective custody and the family dog was taken to the city pound.
Neither Richards nor the police commissioner would disclose the exact cause of death.
email: mgryta@buffnews.com
The commissioner and Detective Chief Dennis J. Richards said the couple’s landlord called police after finding Thomas-Mattox’s body in a rear bedroom of their home on Andover Avenue in the city’s Bailey-Kensington neighborhood.
Northeast District police arrived at the scene at about 3:25 p.m. Monday and found the couple’s 10-year-old son home. Richards said their other child, a daughter, was at school.
The police commissioner said Tuesday that Mattox was arrested Monday afternoon at a Rochester bus terminal and that he confessed to killing his wife as homicide detectives drove him back to Buffalo.
Derenda said the Andover Avenue home was “a very graphic and brutal scene” of violence.
Because of what Richards called “excellent cooperation from people in the area,” the first officers at the death scene learned that Antoine Mattox was seen fleeing the house on foot at about 1:30 p.m. Monday. An areawide “person of interest” police alert was broadcast for him, and Rochester police took him into custody at the Greyhound Bus Station in that city.
Derenda and Richards said Mattox was believed to have been on his way to Virginia when the bus he apparently boarded in Buffalo sometime midafternoon Monday stopped in Rochester to pick up other passengers. Police officials did not disclose the reason for his possible trip to Virginia.
The police commissioner and chief of detectives said that Detectives Anthony Borrelli and Mario T. Pratts formally charged Antoine Mattox with second-degree murder Tuesday. They said Detective Sgt. James P. Lonergan and Detectives James A. Lema, Reginald Minor and Salvatore A. Valso played active roles in the fast-moving investigation leading up to the arrest.
Richards said investigators still were trying to piece together the events that led to Nedra Thomas-Mattox’s death. He said the Mattox children were taken into protective custody and the family dog was taken to the city pound.
Neither Richards nor the police commissioner would disclose the exact cause of death.
email: mgryta@buffnews.com