Victim Identified & Suspect Arrested In East Providence Homicide

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — Allen J. Hanson, 31, of East Providence, has been charged with Domestic 1st Degree Murder, East Providence police said Saturday. The charge is in connection with Jennifer Silva's death Saturday morning. Police went to the home at 85 Warren Ave. around 4 a.m. responding to a 911 call. The caller said a woman was hit by a car.

Officers arrived and found a woman "who had significant trauma and was unresponsive, in the rear parking lot," police said. They started first aid until East Providence Fire Department medics arrived. They took Silva to Rhode Island Hospital where she later died. Hanson was at the scene. He identified Silva and told police she was his girlfriend. But as police investigated the situation, they concluded her injuries were not consistent with the story about a car.

Detectives determined the injuries were caused by a Domestic Violence altercation between Hanson and the victim, police said.

The victim has been identified as Jennifer Silva, 41, of 85 Warren Ave., East Providence.

An autopsy will be performed by the RI Medical Examiner’s office on Monday.

Hanson will be arraigned on Domestic 1st Degree Murder charges on Monday in District Court.