BOSTON -- A woman whose body was found buried in a shallow back yard behind her home feared for her life, according to court documents.
Beth Spartichino was found buried in a grave behind her house at 7 Union St. on Thursday after a missing persons report was filed the afternoon before.
Spartichino's son, Matthew Worster, 17, was arraigned on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and intent to murder in connection with the case. He was ordered held on $500,000 bail. More charges may be filed in the case after an autopsy is completed, the Bristol County District Attorney's Office said.
"Her children were very important to her, and I'm sure from above, they will continue to important to her and to us," said Spartichino's aunt, Lorna Slysz.
Worster's parents had just gone through a bitter divorce before she was slain.
According to court documents, officers had been called to the Worster home for "several prior domestic related incidents."
The report said police were called in May of 2010 when Spartichino "stated that (ex-husband) Michael told her that he would kill her and bury her in the yard where no one would find her. Beth also stated that Michael was coaching the three children to treat her with contempt."
In the affidavit she filed at the time, Spartichino said her husband, "Threatened to chop me up into pieces and bury me in many places over our property so I would never be found."
She went on to say, "I fear for my childrens' emotional health. I believe they are being poisoned emotionally because my husband wants me dead and he and my children back in our home."
Spartichino did apply for and was granted a restraining order from her husband at that time. The couple's divorce had only been finalized a few weeks before she was slain.
Her body was found shot in the back and buried in a grave that was 3 feet wide by 9 feet long and dug prior to her death, Assistant Bristol County District Attorney William McCauley said.
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