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Father of Peabody murder victim says she was 'a sweetheart with a problem'

PEABODY, Mass. — One suspect has been arrested in a gruesome double murder inside a Peabody home over the weekend, but another suspect remains on the loose, according to police.

Late Saturday night, a woman ran out of a Farm Avenue home screaming. She flagged down a car and told police about a horrific crime.

In the basement, police found the bodies of a man and woman, wrapped in material.

The victims have now been identified as 37-year-old Mark Greenlaw and 39-year-old Jennifer O'Connor.

The Essex district attorney said the two victims were in a dating relationship.

“Detectives were here. Told us what was reported in the papers. We don’t know any details at all. Nothing,” said Jennifer’s father, Ed O’Connor.

He spoke to FOX25 at his home Monday, not long after he learned his daughter Jennifer was one of the victims found murdered in that basement.

“This was a good person,” O'Connor said. "She wasn’t a mean person. This was a good person that just got involved with people she shouldn't have been involved with.”

O'Connor said his daughter suffered a lifetime of medical issues, including childhood leukemia and a flesh-eating virus, which led to a 20-year-long battle with alcoholism and addiction.

He said he has no idea what happened to his daughter at this house over the weekend, but he said she certainly didn't deserve that fate.

“Society has to understand,” he said. “We have to get this under control more than we do now.”

Police arrested 45-year-old Michael Hebb in Peabody shortly after noon Monday. They say another suspect is still on the loose.

"She was basically a sweetheart -- with a problem," O'Connor said.