By Devon Cormier
Staff Writer

A Friday night sleepover ended in a standoff with police on Jan. 7 when four children were stuck in a New Boston home for hours after an armed man assaulted his girlfriend and refused to come out of the house, said state police.

A 911 call at 11:30 p.m. came from 471 Francestown Road, said state police Lt. John LeLacheur. When New Boston police officers arrived at the scene, they found Amy Lynch, 37, badly injured, outside with her daughter. Lynch said she had been assaulted by her boyfriend, Andrew Antoniello, 37, who lives at the same address.

Fire Chief Dan MacDonald said the incident seemed to materialize out of the blue and that Antoniello pulled Lynch out of bed and started beating her. After being dragged down to the kitchen, Lynch was able to escape to the porch with one of her daughters. The other children – one the couple shared, two of Lynch’s children and a neighbor’s child that was spending the night – climbed into the attic, pulled the ladder up and called 911. The children hiding in the attic ranged from about 4 to 12 years old, said LeLacheur.

While Lynch was being transported by ambulance to Elliot Hospital, officers quickly called for backup from Weare police and the New Hampshire state police after Antoniello, still inside the home, told them he had a gun and told police leave. New Boston and Weare police were at the scene when four state officers arrived. After no luck getting the children or Antoniello out of the house, the state’s Special Weapons and Tactics team was called in. Close to 25 officers from the SWAT team secured the area and tried to reason with Antoniello. Antoniello refused to answer the phone to speak with officers and refused to come out, said LeLacheur.

At about 1:30 a.m., the four children were all able to sneak by Antoniello and out of the house. Police took the children into custody. Accept for the neighbor’s child, all were eventually brought to their grandparents’house, said MacDonald.

“If you remember that night it was very cold out,” said MacDonald. “The kids came running down the driveway barefoot in the snow. Unfortunately, that is a very traumatic thing for them.”

At 4:30 a.m., the SWAT team threw chemical agents into the home. Antoniello came out without a fight and was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail in Manchester and charged with second degree assault. He is now out on bail with a restraining order to stay out of New Boston and away from his family, said MacDonald.

Lynch was treated at Elliot Hospital and later released. MacDonald said it was one of the worst beatings local police have seen in recent years.