A Massachusetts man who was charged with murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend told police he put his arm around her neck “as hard as I could.”
Matthew Cruz, a 37-year-old Taunton resident, was arrested Thursday after police found his girlfriend, 37-year-old Shannon Smith, dead at the bottom of the stairs in his home. Cruz initially told investigators he had found her dead after she threw herself down the stairs, but later gave a different account, according to Taunton police.
At about 12:52 a.m. Thursday, Taunton police responded to 8 Alcott Circle after receiving a call reporting an unresponsive woman. At the scene officers found Smith, a Bridgewater resident, dead at the bottom of a set of stairs inside the house…