In an apparent random act of violence, a 68-year-old woman was found dead in her Danvers home Thursday and a Lynn teenager has been charged with her murder, Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker said Thursday night.
The victim was identified as Janet Swallow, 68 who lived on Amherst Street, Tucker said at a news conference at the Danvers police station.
Her alleged attacker was identified as Anthony DeMayo, 18, a senior at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, Tucker said.
“This is random,” Tucker said, according to a livestream of the press conference. “There was no connection between the defendant and the victim.”
DeMayo was picked up after he was spotted Thursday afternoon walking along Standish Street in Lynn with a knife that appeared to be blood-stained, Tucker said.
Because the teen was acting erratically, he was taken to Salem Hospital, Tucker said.
Police executed a search warrant for the teen’s home. Information gathered there, combined with technology, led investigators to Amherst Street where they found Swallow’s body, Tucker said.
He declined to comment on when she might have been killed.
Danvers police Chief James P. Lovell said Swallow was a longtime resident and her two sons have been notified of her death.
“There is no continued threat or danger to the public,” Lovell said.
DeMayo was arrested at the hospital and taken to the Salem police station. The preliminary investigation indicates that he acted alone, Tucker said.
“This terrible tragedy has struck the Swallow family, the town of Danvers, and the Bishop Fenwick community,” Tucker said. “They are all in our thoughts as we continue to investigate.”
DeMayo will be arraigned Friday in Salem District Court on a charge of murder. More details about the crime will be revealed then, Tucker said.
According to public records, Swallow lived at 17 Amherst St., Danvers, and State Police responded to the home late Thursday afternoon, according to Broadcastify, a public safety audio feed.
Police were on the scene at the home late into Thursday night.
Kathy McCabe of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.