A young woman arrested on “unrelated warrants” by officers investigating the death of a person found on a houseboat in Boston on Sunday night made a brief court appearance on Monday morning.
Nora Nelson, 24, of Boston, was arraigned in Charlestown District Court on charges of two counts of malicious destruction of property, assault and battery on a person over the age of 60, assault and battery with a television remote, and threat to commit a crime, court documents showed.
Those charges were not related to the ongoing death investigation at Shipway Place at the Charlestown Marina, instead stemming from an incident at 343 Commonwealth Avenue in September 2023, according to a Boston Police Department criminal complaint issued on Jan. 25, 2025.
Officers responding to a report of an incident at the Charlestown Marina just before 11 p.m. discovered a dead person on a houseboat, Boston police said. The Chief Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and positively identify the individual.
There was no immediate word on what charges Nelson faces in connection with the death investigation but she was slated to face a judge in Boston Municipal Court later on Monday.
Police blocked off the entrance to the Pier 8 parking lot and video captured overnight showed a Boston police crime scene response truck arriving at the snow-covered marina.
Residents of the marina were on edge and questions swirled as a heavy police presence descended on the neighborhood.
“We woke up about midnight. They had police boats coming in and about 15 cops on the dock,” marina resident Chad Johansen told Boston 25 News. “They asked us to stay inside and stay away from the scene. They said we were safe and there was no worry to our safety in the marina.”
Johansen added, “To have this kind of police presence and this kind of activity going on is very concerning.”
Johansen said investigators have been very tight-lipped since uncovering the death.
“They won’t tell us anything about what’s going on,” Johansen noted. “Just very sketchy.”
Johansen described the victim as “friendly,” “well-spoken,” and “well-known.”
The Boston Police Department’s Homicide Unit is leading the death investigation.
Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact detectives at 617-343-4470.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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