Judge Jane Prince ordered 22-year-old Ryan M. Hanafin to turn over his cellphone passcode in Woburn District Court on Tuesday, advancing the prosecution’s case against the Reading man.
Hanafin is charged with the Oct. 8 killing of his 48-year-old mother, Andria Hanafin, according to the Boston Globe.
During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Carrie Spiros confirmed that the case is currently before a grand jury. That process is expected to conclude in early December.
If indicted, the proceedings will move to Middlesex Superior Court. Judge Prince granted the prosecution’s motion to compel the access code, which Hanafin’s defense attorney, Carolyn McGowan, did not oppose.
While McGowan did not contest the motion to produce the cellphone passcode, she reserved the right to challenge the admissibility of any evidence recovered from the device.
Investigators allege that Hanafin sent a series of Snapchat messages to a cousin and a friend on the night of the killing.
In one message to his cousin, Hanafin reportedly claimed he “blew her [expletive] smooth off,” referring to his mother.
He later told a friend he had sent that message to his cousin but claimed the statement was false and intended only to “get a reaction,” prosecutors said.
The investigation into the death began after Matthew Hanafin returned home from work just after midnight and found his wife in the kitchen.
Police reports indicate that Andria Hanafin had called her husband around 7 p.m. that evening to discuss an ongoing dispute with their son regarding the dozens of cats she fostered in their home.
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—Angell later recovered as many as 84 cats from the property.
Hanafin was arrested shortly after the killing near the Sugarbush Ski Area in Warren, Vermont.
Authorities recovered 19 guns from his bedroom in Reading and found an additional firearm along with thousands of rounds of ammunition in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.
He faces 15 felony charges and one misdemeanor count for improper firearm storage in proximity to a minor, specifically his 13-year-old brother.
Hanafin, who previously worked at a gun shop in Woburn and had been studying criminal justice at Salem State University, remains held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 21.