Man Charged With Northampton Mother's Murder Has New Court Date

NORTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, PA —The man charged in the death of Samantha Rementer faces a formal arraignment on Feb. 3, Bucks County authorities said.

A preliminary hearing for Thadius William McGrath was held last week before Massachusetts District Justice Brian Marriott, said Manuel Gamiz Jr., director of communications for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

McGrath, a resident of Chatham, Massachusetts, is charged with the murder of the 31-year-old Rementer at her Clark Court home in Holland on June 8.

Gamiz said all the charges of murder and related offenses were held during the preliminary hearing.

McGrath is charged with murder of the first degree, murder of the third degree, endangering the welfare of a child, recklessly endangering another person, and possession of an Instrument of crime.

Shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, township police responded to 12014 Clark Court for a report of a suicidal subject.

After a series of unanswered knocks and announcements, officers were alerted to movement inside the residence and were met by a 4-year-old child, who was covered in blood.

The child was quickly moved to a safe location and told police that the defendant killed her mother, and then shot himself.

As police entered the home, they encountered and safely removed a second child, who was about a year old.

Inside the residence, police found Rementer on the floor of the rear bedroom with apparent blunt-force trauma to the face and a ligature wrapped around her neck.

A post-mortem examination by the Bucks County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death to be strangulation and the manner of death homicide.

Police also encountered McGrath, who was suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face.

A 9mm pistol was recovered from the area where the defendant was located. McGrath was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center and then transferred to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

The 4-year-old later recounted the events during a recorded child forensic interview at the Bucks County Children’s Advocacy Center, where she told investigators that the pair argued prior to the defendant beating and strangling the victim.

“This man murdered Ms. Rementer in front her children, then unsuccessfully tried to take his own life”, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in releasing details about the crime late last June. “I cannot think of two more cowardly acts. He will now be made to pay an exacting price for his crimes.”

The case was investigated by Northampton Township Police Department detectives and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.