Police have arrested a Taunton man accused of killing his girlfriend Thursday afternoon, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.

 

First responders rushed to an Alcott Circle townhouse after receiving reports of a woman who Quinn said “was described as being unconscious.”

 

The woman, identified by Quinn as 37-year-old Shannon Smith, was discovered unresponsive at the bottom of a staircase inside the townhouse.

 

Smith, of Bridgewater, was rushed to Morton Hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to Quinn.

Investigators determined that Smith’s boyfriend, identified by Quinn as 37-year-old Matthew Cruz, lived in the townhouse and that her death was the result of a “domestic incident” between the two of them.

 

Cruz was taken into custody and charged with murder. He is expected to face a judge Friday morning.

 

See more at wpri.com.