SALEM — “Is my wife dead?” Joseph Hurley asked the judge, interrupting the proceeding when the charges against him were read out during his arraignment from his hospital bed Tuesday afternoon.
Hurley, 62, who is accused of shooting his wife multiple times before barricading himself in his home in a Danvers trailer park, forcing a standoff with police on Monday, was arraigned via a Zoom session from his bed at Beverly Hospital, where he was under guard by Danvers police, with Judge Holly Broadbent and attorneys for both sides in a courtroom at Salem District Court.
Hurley was arraigned on seven counts, including armed assault to murder, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of possessing a firearm without an FID card, and one count of possessing ammunition without an FID card. He’s being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Feb. 16.
Hurley’s arrest follows an intense scene that played out at the Danvers Mobile Home Trailer Park at 98 Newbury St. Monday afternoon — a situation that snarled traffic on nearby Route 1 and put the neighborhood on edge for hours (bit.ly/3uvXj1l).
On Tuesday, the victim — whose name hasn’t been released but was identified in court as Hurley’s wife — remained in serious condition, Broadbent said during the arraignment.
After Hurley’s charges were read by the clerk, a brief interruption occurred as Hurley repeated back, “murder?”
The arraignment continued as Hurley’s court-appointed attorney, Salem-based defense lawyer Mark Dewan, explained that he hadn’t had a chance yet “to have a privileged, private communication” with his client, as Hurley had been in the constant presence of police at Beverly Hospital. “When I spoke to him, he had two officers who had to be in the room with him for security purposes.”
Moments later, Hurley interrupted, asking, “may I plead, please?”
“What are you asking of the court?” Broadbent asked.
“Is my wife dead?” Hurley asked.
Broadbent then explained to Hurley directly that a dangerousness hearing has been requested, and the state is “alleging you’re a danger to the named victim as well as the community, and asking for a hearing, at which time a judge would make that determination.” She then asked Assistant District Attorney Kaitlyn Duval for the facts of the case, which were later impounded by court order.
In her summary of a Danvers police report, Duval explained that the victim was shot multiple times, with “confirmed gunshot wounds to her head, neck, back, and hands.” Hurley was also taken into custody with “a small incision on his chest that appeared to be self-inflicted.”
The victim was able to escape the trailer after being shot, Duval explained. As the first police units arrived, “their attention was immediately drawn to an occupant of another home who had stuck her head out her door and yelled, ‘she’s in here; she’s hurt,’ referring to the victim.”
“While inside the trailer rendering aid to the victim, officers heard two gunshots outside and realized that officers on the outside were taking fire from the defendant,” Duval said. “The bullets appeared to have struck the trailers across the street. Officers carried the victim out of the trailer to a nearby cruiser to safely transport the victim to the hospital.”
At that point, more police arrived — and more shots rang out, Duval read. Regional SWAT units from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) then also rolled in “to attempt to negotiate with the defendant, but the defendant refused to exit his home for approximately two hours,” Duval said.
A drone mounted with a video camera was then deployed to get a closer, safe look at the trailer. Through that video, “the defendant was seen inside the trailer carrying a revolver,” Duval said. “NEMLEC entered the home and placed this defendant into custody.”
Hurley was taken to Beverly Hospital after his arrest, where detectives interviewed him and reported receiving a confession. Two guns and ammunition were also found inside the trailer. Hurley isn’t licensed to carry, according to Duval.
“The detectives asked the defendant if he recalls using a weapon. The defendant said ‘yes’. The detectives asked the defendant if he picked up the firearm. The defendant said ‘yes’,” Duval read. “Ultimately, the defendant told the detectives, and I quote, ‘I know I’m going to jail for the rest of my life.'”