Boston man charged with killing a 79-year-old man and his dog with his car held without bail
BOSTON, January 5, 2026 – A Boston man charged with intentionally hitting a 79-year-old man and his dog near Commonwealth Avenue and Hereford Street Saturday morning is being held without bail, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced today.
WILLIAM HANEY, 42, of Boston was charged with first-degree murder and animal cruelty.
Judge Joseph Griffin ordered Haney held without bail pending a mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital. Haney will return to court January 23 for a status hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight said that at about 8:00 a.m. on January 3, Haney drove his Toyota SUV from his home on Marlborough Street in the Back Bay to the area of the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. Haney stopped along the route to ask a passerby if he had seen a man in a red jacket and his dog. The passerby directed Haney in the direction of Massachusetts Avenue.
Shortly after, the witness heard a bang followed by yelps of a dog.
A witness described seeing Haney drive slowly up Commonwealth Ave and then speeding up and striking John Axelrod, 79, and his dog. Another witness captured Haney’s license plate, which was registered to him at the Marlborough Street address.
Video footage shows Haney stopping at Dunkin Donuts at 1316 Beacon Street just minutes after the crash to remove and discard a long rope from his front grill. The item, recovered from a trash receptacle by police, was the leash for Axelrod’s dog with a tag bearing the dog’s name and Axelrod’s phone number.
At about 8:17 a.m., Haney drove to a service station in Brookline and asked that the car be repaired. The station, not being an auto body shop, refused. Haney then asked if he could store the car in one of the bays. The station again refused.
Haney abandoned the SUV at the intersection of Thorndike and Harvard streets in Brookline and met up with his brother. At 9:10 a.m., Haney and his brother walked into Brookline police headquarters. Haney’s brother told police that Haney had been in an accident.
Knight said the evidence shows that the fatal crash was not an accident, but a “deliberate and premeditated murder with the defendant using his Toyota SUV as the murder weapon.”
"I extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of John Axelrod, a man devoted to enlightening society through his support of the arts, particularly by his outstanding donations of artworks by diverse and underrepresented painters and illustrators. We will provide his loved ones with full support as this case moves forward," Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. Our office handles more than 20,000 cases a year. Nearly 160 assistant district attorneys practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Boston and Chelsea Juvenile Courts and the Supreme Judicial Court. Our office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs for anyone encountering the criminal justice system. We are committed to educating the public about our mission and services while focusing on crime prevention to keep the residents, workers and visitors of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications