Ashley D. Purdy, 20, female, was a lifelong resident of Attleboro whose life ended violently on January 17, 2010 in a motel room in neighboring North Attleboro. That Sunday morning, officers went to the Pineapple Inn on Route 1 to serve an arrest warrant on her boyfriend, 23-year-old Jose Vidal Jr. of Seekonk. After police knocked and announced themselves, two gunshots rang out in quick succession from inside the room.
When officers got into the room, Ashley was found mortally wounded and died at the scene.
Investigators determined that Vidal shot Ashley before turning the gun on himself. He was taken first to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro and then transferred to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities characterized the incident as an apparent murder-suicide, not a prolonged standoff or exchange with police.
Because the suspected shooter died from his self-inflicted wound, there were no arrests in the case. Police and prosecutors publicly identified Vidal as the sole suspect and did not announce any search for additional accomplices. Ashley's death, initially reported as a tragedy in a North Attleboro motel room, was later memorialized in local obituaries that remembered her roots in Attleboro and marked the abrupt and devastating end to a young woman's life.
