Police say evidence inside a Taunton townhouse conflicted with Matthew Cruz’s initial explanation for how Shannon Smith ended up at the foot of a staircase.

TAUNTON, Mass. — A Massachusetts man accused of killing his girlfriend gave police a series of changing explanations after she was found unresponsive at the bottom of a staircase, according to police reports and prosecutors. Matthew Cruz, 37, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the Sept. 17 death of Shannon Smith, also 37, of Bridgewater.

The case centers not only on what prosecutors allege happened inside Cruz’s Taunton townhouse but also on the accounts he gave after Smith was discovered. Cruz initially described her death as the result of a fall she caused herself, authorities said. Investigators later concluded that injuries and other conditions at the scene did not fit that explanation. Prosecutors say Cruz ultimately acknowledged applying pressure to Smith’s neck during a physical confrontation. The allegation remains unproven, and the criminal case is still in its early stages.

Taunton police and emergency medical crews went to the townhouse at 8 Allcot Circle shortly before 1 p.m. Sept. 17 after receiving a report that a woman was unconscious. Officers found Smith at the base of a staircase. She was taken to Morton Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Cruz was at the residence when officers arrived. The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office later announced that investigators believed Smith had died during a domestic incident involving Cruz and charged him with one count of murder.

The position and condition of Smith’s body quickly drew investigators’ attention. A police report described several visible injuries and said an officer did not believe they were consistent with an ordinary fall down the relatively short household staircase. Smith was found on her back near a damaged closet door at the bottom of the stairs. Investigators also noted that objects around the stairs did not appear to have been disturbed in the way they expected if she had simply fallen through the area. Paramedics told police they believed Smith may have been unresponsive longer than Cruz initially indicated, according to court reporting about the case.

Authorities said Cruz’s first account placed responsibility for the fatal episode on Smith. He told investigators that the couple had been arguing over his allegation that she had been unfaithful. According to police, Cruz said Smith made statements about suicide and then threw herself down the stairs. He also told officers that he tried to help her before calling 911. Police did not accept that description as an adequate explanation for what they found inside the townhouse, and investigators continued questioning him as they examined Smith’s injuries and the scene.

Cruz later offered a different version, according to the criminal complaint and prosecutors’ account in court. In that telling, he and Smith were involved in a physical struggle and both went down the staircase. Authorities said his description then changed again. Prosecutors allege Cruz acknowledged placing an arm around Smith’s neck and applying pressure during the confrontation. Investigators say he described continuing to choke her after the pair reached the bottom of the stairs. Those statements are allegations contained in the prosecution’s case and have not been tested at trial.

Police also focused on marks found on Smith’s body that investigators described as rug burns. According to the complaint, investigators believed those injuries were consistent with Smith having been dragged or otherwise moved along the carpeted staircase rather than simply falling down it. Prosecutors have alleged that Cruz strangled Smith while she was upstairs, moved her down the staircase and assaulted her further near the bottom. The publicly available reports do not establish a final medical examiner determination explaining the precise cause and manner of Smith’s death, making it important to distinguish the prosecution’s reconstruction from a completed forensic finding.

The couple had been dating on and off for roughly 10 months, prosecutors said. Authorities described the confrontation as beginning with an argument over Cruz’s accusation that Smith had cheated on him. That allegation provides context for what prosecutors say preceded the violence, but it does not establish why the encounter developed as authorities allege. Smith lived in Bridgewater, while Cruz lived at the Taunton townhouse where police found her. Officials have said the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and Taunton police have continued investigating the death.

When Cruz appeared in Taunton District Court on Sept. 18, a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf. Prosecutors told the court that Cruz had prior assault and battery convictions and was already facing a separate assault case when Smith died. In that pending matter, authorities said Cruz was accused of pushing his 75-year-old father during an August incident at his parents’ Bridgewater home. The earlier allegation is separate from Smith’s death and also should not be treated as proof that Cruz committed the homicide now charged. Prosecutors cited his prior record and pretrial-release status while discussing detention.

Other reports from the arraignment said prosecutors informed the court that Cruz’s mother and former wife had previously sought restraining orders against him. Those records were introduced as part of the prosecution’s description of his background, not as evidence resolving what occurred on Sept. 17. Defense attorney Dana Sargent acknowledged the emotional weight of the case and expressed sympathy for the families. Cruz remains entitled to the presumption of innocence unless prosecutors prove the murder charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation’s most important evidentiary dispute is likely to involve the relationship between Cruz’s statements and the physical evidence. Authorities have portrayed the sequence of accounts as increasingly inconsistent with the scene and eventually more incriminating. A defense, however, will have an opportunity to challenge the meaning, accuracy and admissibility of statements attributed to Cruz and to contest the prosecution’s interpretation of the townhouse evidence. The available reporting does not describe a trial date, completed evidentiary hearing or judicial ruling deciding those issues.

The procedural schedule has already changed since Cruz’s arraignment. He originally was expected to return to Taunton District Court on Oct. 15 for a probable cause hearing. Cruz appeared in court that day, but the hearing was rescheduled to Dec. 9, according to a later USA TODAY Network image report distributed through Reuters Connect. A probable cause proceeding is an early stage of a criminal prosecution and is not a determination of guilt. Cruz remains charged with murder and held without bail while the case proceeds.

The Dec. 9 date is now the next publicly reported milestone in a case that began with an emergency call, a woman found at the bottom of a staircase and an explanation investigators say did not hold up against what they observed. Prosecutors will have to establish their allegations through admissible evidence in court, while Cruz will have the opportunity to challenge their reconstruction of Smith’s final hours. No conviction has been reported.

Author note: Last updated November 7, 2026.