ORANGE — A man and a woman are being held in connection with the Oct. 5 murder of Orange resident Thomas A. Harty, and the serious injury of his wife, Joanna Fisher.
Joshua Hart, 23, and Brittany Smith, 27, are being held without right to bail by the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Department in Virginia, according to Mary Carey, spokeswoman for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, in a statement late Sunday night.
The Massachusetts State Police have arrest warrants for Hart and Smith charging murder, attempted murder, home invasion, armed robbery, larceny and conspiracy, according to Carey. The most recent address for Hart and Smith was Athol.
The victims’ stolen motor vehicle, a gray/silver 2003 Toyota Corolla station wagon, has also been recovered in Virginia, according to Carey.
A home invasion was discovered Oct. 6 at Harty and Fisher’s home at 581 East River St. Fisher, 77, was transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester for treatment of throat wounds. The hospital has declined to discuss her condition.
Harty, who would have turned 95 on Oct. 27, was a passionate hiker and mountain climber and was still active outdoors, according to a Recorder feature story published last summer. According to the article, Harty served in the Navy during World War II, and had worked at a local foundry for 45 years. At 94, he was still working in sales for Donbeck Sales, a family business, in Orange.
According to the Recorder police log item dated Oct. 3, Brittany E. Smith, 27, of Chase Road, Athol, and Joshua A. Hart, 23, of Chestnut Hill Road, Athol, were placed under arrest in Orange following an investigation. Smith was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle, and Hart was charged with being an accessory after the fact.