Woman arrested for threatening neighbor with knife in Maynard apartment complex

MAYNARD —  On Monday, September 8, 2025, at approximately 9:54 p.m., Maynard Police Officers Joseph Gennaro and Leon Muraguri were dispatched to 212 Dawn Road following a report that a resident had been threatened with a knife by a neighbor.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Joseph Gennaro and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“We arrived on scene and made contact with the reporting party, Lyn [last name redacted],” Officer Gennaro said. “Lyn was visibly upset and shaken.”

Officer Gennaro asked Lyn what had transpired that evening.

“Lyn stated earlier in the evening, around 8:30 p.m., she was outside next to the building in the smoking area with two other neighbors,” Officer Gennaro said. He then noted, “The smoking area is located on the side of the 200 building block in between the 300 building block. The area has tables and chairs for residents of all buildings to use, and there are often people there at all hours of the day and night.”

Officer Gennaro said that, at this time, the two neighbors Lyn was with (whose names were redacted from the report obtained by News Link Live) came out of their apartment to speak with them about the incident.

Lyn stated that while she was outside, another resident—later identified as Deborah Bouffard—came out through the side door holding a knife in her right hand and approached her in an aggressive and angry manner.

According to police, Deborah A. Bouffard is a resident of Maynard, MA.

“Lyn stated Deborah began yelling and making threats, stating, ‘I want to stab you,’ and ‘I’ll cut your throat,’ while challenging her to come inside and fight,” Officer Gennaro said.

One of the neighbors who had just joined them said that Bouffard also yelled, “I want to kill you next Tuesday.”

Lyn told Officer Gennaro that the knife Bouffard allegedly held had a silver blade approximately six inches long and a black handle, with a total length of no more than 12 inches.

One of the neighbors said she saw Bouffard holding the knife as well.

“I asked Lyn what led up to Deborah coming outside, she stated she was unsure and believed she was intoxicated as this is a common occurrence with her,” Officer Gennaro said. “Lyn stated she and Deborah were involved in a fight last year, and have had issues with one another involving Lyn’s boyfriend.”

Officer Gennaro noted that throughout his conversation with Lyn, she appeared visibly upset and was crying. At one point, she stated that she feared she was going to be attacked during the incident.

“She stated she has never seen her act that way and she was scared at the time of the incident that she was going to get stabbed,” Officer Gennaro said. “It should be noted that Lyn is 60 years old.”

After speaking with Lyn and the two neighbors who allegedly witnessed the incident, Officer Gennaro and Officer Muraguri went to Bouffard’s apartment.

“We made contact with Deborah at the front door and asked if we could speak with her, she agreed and invited us inside. Once inside, I asked Deborah if anything happened this evening between her and a neighbor in the building,” Officer Gennaro said. “Deborah stated ‘no’ and appeared to not know what I was talking about. I asked her about the smoking area outside and if she was out there earlier tonight around 8:30 p.m.”

Bouffard said she had gone outside earlier in the day, while it was still light out, to collect some plates and food she had left out for everyone to share.

“I asked Deborah if she had any interactions with the neighbors when she went outside, she continued to appear confused and stated she just went out to get the food and came back inside,” Officer Gennaro said.

Officer Gennaro then asked Deborah if she had a kitchen knife with her when she went outside.

“Deborah stated she had a couple spatulas that she used to scoop the food out of the bowl and did not have a knife with her,” Officer Gennaro said.

Officer Gennaro noted that while he was inside Bouffard’s apartment, he observed a kitchen knife set in the corner next to the sink.

“I advised Deborah that two other witnesses outside stated she had a knife in her hand and was yelling at Lyn,” Officer Gennaro said. “Deborah stated she did not have a knife on her and did not go outside to yell at Lyn this evening. Deborah confirmed the issue with Lyn’s boyfriend, referencing the incident when they got into a fight last year.”

Officer Gennaro said that Bouffard continued to deny any allegations made by Lyn.

“She had an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her person and was actively drinking Budweiser beer,” Officer Gennaro said. “I advised Deborah that based on what was reported to us by Lyn, and the statements made by all the involved parties from the time of the incident, she was going to be placed under arrest.”

Bouffard was handcuffed and placed into the rear of a cruiser.

“Deborah was transported to the station and booked by Sergeant [Eric] Davoll per department policy,” Officer Gennaro said. “Officer [Monica] Ricci from the Acton Police Department responded to search her.”

Deborah Bouffard was charged with the following:

• Assault with Dangerous Weapon 60+
• Threat to Commit Crime

Bouffard’s bail was set at $500.

Her arraignment was scheduled for Sept. 9, 2025, in Concord District Court.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place earlier this month, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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