Modesta Gomez is a 23-year-old woman from Methuen, Massachusetts facing serious charges following the death of a relative after a family fight over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
According to reports, the young woman had a social media feud via Snapchat with a female cousin and decided to go beat her up on Sunday at a residence located on 21 Bicknell Ave.
Things escalated pretty quickly, and the two women started fighting. The defendant used the fact that her cousin was already fighting with another woman to gain the upper hand and hit her while she was on the floor.
The defendant’s aunt, Martina Gomez, who had suffered from high blood pressure, tried to separate the fight, which involved her 24-year-old daughter. People, who saw the incident unfold, said Modesta started punching the 63-year-old woman and reportedly slammed her head in the family’s front door.
When authorities arrived, the aunt was barely conscious, and they started doing CPR. Officials described a very chaotic scene. The victim was taken to Lawrence General Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 11:20 p.m. last night.
According to the police and based on the statement of a female witness, a neighbor, who was returning home from a nearby market and could hear women yelling at each other: “She observed what she described as an older woman fall to the ground after being struck by another female … she observed the same female continue to assault the older woman by repeatedly closing the front door on the older woman’s torso while she was on the ground.”
The defendant is charged with assault and battery on a person over 60 and assault and battery. She was arraigned on Monday afternoon in Lawrence district court.
She is held without bail, and a dangerousness hearing is set for Friday.
An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine the cause of death. Depending on the results, the defendant could end up facing a murder charge.
