Son arrested for Thanksgiving Day murder of mother

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- The son of a woman beaten to death along with two others on Thanksgiving Day in 2010 has been arrested on murder charges, East Hartford police said.

Brett Bednarz, 48, faces three counts of capital felony murder, along with murder, burglary and other charges.

He is being held on a $3 million bond.

The murders happened on Nov. 25, 2010, at a home on Naomi Drive in East Hartford.

Beverly Therrien, the mother of Bednarz, was found dead in her home along with her tenants, Michael Ramsey and Pamela Johns. They had all been beaten to death.

Police had long suspected Bednarz of being involved in the deaths, naming him a person of interest. He was served with search warrants at his Rachel Road home in Manchester a couple of weeks after the murders.

Neighbors say they saw police swarm the area.

"I saw a lot of cops in the area and around the building, they're positioned with guns," said Syed Haque. "So I'm really scared and I stay inside."

Haque lives adjacent to Bednarz in the Manchester apartments. He says Bednarz was always nice to him and his sons.

"If someone is doing something wrong, I want to keep away from them," Haque said.

The same goes for neighbor Vincent Mondo who says he feels safer knowing the accused killer is cut off from the community.

"It's a relief to know he's in jail and we don't have to worry about something like that," said Mondo.