Swampscott Man Held For Attempted Murder Charge

A Swampscott man is being held in jail pending a dangerousness hearing following his arrest Sunday by on a charge of attempted murder.

Gregory Guerette, 22, of 6 Shackle Way, allegedly knocked the victim to a bed in an upstairs bedroom at his house earlier in the day and jumped on and choked her, according to court records.

"Once on top of her he began to strangle her with both hands and stated, 'You are going to die today bitch,'" the officer states in the record.

The alleged victim told police that she tried to scream but could not and felt like she was going to pass out and die, the record states.

She said the suspect stopped choking her for some reason and she was able to go downstairs and get her 7-week-old baby. 

She said the baby was downstairs in a bouncy chair while the incident took place, the record states.

The incident happened after an argument and after the suspect allegedly knocked from the woman's hand a baby bottle she was preparing, the record states.

The woman told police that after the suspect's mother arrived home, she told her that she wanted to have nothing more to do with Guerette and asked his mother for a ride home, the record states.

The alleged victim told police that both the suspect and his mother told her that without him she would lose the baby because she lives in shelter, the record states.

Guerette ended up driving the woman home and he told her to forget what happened and continued to tell her that she would lose the baby without him, the alleged victim told police, the record states.

After returning to her residence she called her father so she could get away from Guerette, and called police, the record states.

Swampscott police brought the woman to the Swampscott police station for an interview. Police called an ambulance after seeing signs on her neck of strangulation.

She was treated but refused transport to the hospital, the record states.

The victim had scratches and what appeared to be fingernail impressions on her neck as well as a large bruise on the back of her neck, police said.

While she was being interviewed her cell phone rang and she told police that it was a text from Guerette saying he loved her and that he was being charged with attempted murder due to what she had told police, the record states.

In an interview with police, Guerette said he argued with the victim over another girl, the record states.

He told police he knocked a can of baby formula from the victim's hand and she punched him in the eye and she bit him on the arm, the record states.

He said the woman was hitting him and he restrained her on the bed by putting a knee on her and holding her down by the neck, the record states.

He said he did not try to strangle her, he was only trying to restrain her, the record states.

He said their 7-month-old baby was on the bed while this was happening, the record states.

Police stated that he asked during the interview if he could use his cell phone to call his mother.

Unknown to police, the suspect allegedly then used his phone to text the victim. Police took the cell phone and charged Guerette with intimidating a witness.

Guerette is scheduled for a hearing Thursday in Lynn District Court to determine whether he poses danger to the victim.