BARRE — On Saturday, July 26, 2025, at approximately 1:33 p.m., Officer Mark Sawyer of the Barre Police Department was dispatched to 200 North Brookfield Road following a report of a domestic incident in progress.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative and Supplemental Narrative of Officer Mark Sawyer and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“While enroute to the call, dispatch advised me that the female party involved was throwing things at the reporting party,” Officer Sawyer said. Later adding, “Let it be known that the address of 200 North Brookfield Road is a well known address with the Barre Police Department for numerous types of calls for service where domestic disturbances and drug activity are the primary calls for service.”
When Officer Sawyer arrived on scene, he said he was met outside in the front yard by the reporting party, Chad [last name redacted].
“Chad appeared visibly upset and his shirt was ripped at the collar on both sides,” Officer Sawyer said.
Officer Sawyer then asked Chad what transpired between he and Ashley Murray, his ex-girlfriend.
“Chad stated he approached Ashley and she ‘went crazy’ on him,” Officer Sawyer said. “Chad continued to state that Ashley attempted numerous times to strike him with closed fists, but Chad was able to deflect most of the strikes. Chad stated that Ashley grabbed his shirt and ripped it. After both of them became separated, Ashley then took multiple items and began throwing them at him. Chad began video recording the incident and Ashley threw a white metal lawn chair at Chad and other items as he attempted to get into his pickup truck that was parked behind the residence.”
Officer Sawyer said he knocked on the door and Krista [last name redacted] opened the door.
“I walked inside the residence and asked Krista where Ashley was,” Officer Sawyer said. “Krista stated, ‘I don’t know, I think maybe she went for a walk.'”
Officer Sawyer said that, at this time, Officer Patrick Almstrom arrived on scene to assist and stated that as he responded from the south side of the residence, he did not see Murray walking.
According to police, Ashley M. Murray, 38, is a resident of South Barre, Massachusetts.
“I asked Krista to go upstairs and tell Ashley to come down and speak with me. Krista went upstairs and quickly came downstairs saying, ‘She’s not there. I went to her room and she was not in her room,'” Officer Sawyer said. “I then spoke to Randy [last name redacted], the homeowner who I am very familiar with due to past incidents at his residence. I requested Randy to go upstairs and check to make sure Ashley was not there. Randy appeared hesitant, but complied with my request. Randy came back downstairs and stated Ashley was not there.”
Officer Sawyer then requested that Officer Almstrom stay inside the residence while he went outside to speak with Chad again.
“Chad stated that Ashley could have left the scene in a blue Subaru operated by a friend who also resides at 200 North Brookfield Road, Mr. Malvin [last name redacted],” Officer Sawyer said. “Chad stated that he wanted to file for a 209A [i.e., an abuse prevention order], but I wanted to speak with Ashley first.”
Officer Sawyer said he then walked back inside the residence and observed Officer Almstrom walking down the stairs with Murray. Officer Sawyer was informed that Murray was allegedly hiding under the covers in one of the rooms.
“I asked Ashley what happened,” Officer Sawyer said. “Ashley stated, ‘He [Chad] f*ck*ng came at me first.’ Ashley continued to say, ‘I threw sh*t, I’m not going to deny it.'”
Officer Sawyer asked Murray how Chad’s shirt got ripped and she said, “Because he f*ck*ng grabbed me and shoved me and I had to grab onto him because I fell onto the cement slab.”
Officer Sawyer said he then spoke with Malvin [last name redacted], who observed the incident.
Officer Sawyer said Malvin stated that Chad “tried to push her so she didn’t come at him and that’s probably how his shirt got ripped.” Malvin added that he was trying to stop her and that while things were being thrown, nothing was actually hit.
After speaking with Malvin, Officer Sawyer returned to speak with Chad, who, by that time, had retrieved the video footage he recorded of the incident from his phone.
“One video in particular showed Ashley yelling at Chad and Ashley picked up a white metal lawn chair and threw it at Chad where if he had not moved it would have struck him,” Officer Sawyer said.
Officer Sawyer said that, in the video, he could hear Chad repeatedly yell, “Get away from me!”
“I walked back inside once more and asked Ashley why she threw the lawn chair,” Officer Sawyer said. “Ashley stated, ‘It was basically just to intimidate him’ and ‘Because he put his hands on me.'”
Officer Sawyer said that, at this time, he placed Murray under arrest, handcuffed her, and escorted her to the back of his cruiser.
“I conducted a pat frisk for weapons, which none were found. I asked Malvin to retrieve some items for Ashley. Ashley was upset and frustrated as to why she was being arrested,” Officer Sawyer said. “I advised Ashley that Chad would also be charged due to the incident but he was not determined to be the dominant aggressor. I requested Officer Murtagh to follow me to the Barre police station to assist with booking and processing and Officer [Joseph] Brown to assist Chad with obtaining an emergency 209A order as he requested.”
When Officer Sawyer arrived at the Barre police station, he said that Officer Dylan Forss and Sergeant Russel Davidson were arriving for their evening shift.
“Sgt. Davidson was able to assist Chad with obtaining an emergency 209A order that was granted and Officer Forss assisted with fingerprinting Ashley during the booking process. Sgt. Davidson contacted Bail Clerk Chris Hart who set bail to $200 cash bail,” Officer Sawyer said. “Ashley was served with the emergency 209A in the booking room before she was transported to the Massachusetts State Police Barracks C3 in Brookfield, Massachusetts, where she awaited bail until 8:30 p.m.”
Ashley Murray was charged with the following:
- Assault with Dangerous Weapon
- Assault on a Family/Household Member
Murray was arraigned in East Brookfield District Court on July 28, 2025. Her next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Sept. 25, 2025.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in July, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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