Virginia Murderer Charged In Beating Of MA Prison Guard

MASSACHUSETTS — A man serving a life sentence for a 2001 Virginia murder is now facing new charges in connection to the near fatal beating of an MCI-Shirley guard in August.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan Wednesday charged Roy Booth, 40, with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and mayhem. Ryan said Booth used a metal pole weighing more than 10 pounds to beat guard Matthew Tidman on Aug. 31. The attack took place in a medium security gym area at the men's prison.

As of this week, Tidman was still hospitalized in critical condition at Lahey Hospital in Burlington due to the injuries.

"Unprovoked, the inmate struck Officer Tidman in the head with the piece of equipment," Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union executive board member Kevin Flanagan said on Sept. 8. "He immediately fell to the floor, where the inmate wielded the equipment and struck Matt several more times in the head."

According to court records, Booth shot and killed Melissa Tanner in 2001 in Portsmouth, Va. He was serving his sentence at MCI-Shirley as part of the Interstate Corrections Compact, an agreement between 38 states to share prison space. Booth, who is now in protective custody at MCI-Souza Baranowski in Lancaster, has been at the Shirley prison since 2021.

Booth is set for an arraignment in October, according to Ryan.