Couple Held Without Bail Following Death of Fall River Teen

A Fall River teen with autism is dead and his father and the father's girlfriend are being held without bail.

John Michael Almond, 33, and Jaclyn Marie Coleman, 26, were arrested Wednesday night and arraigned Thursday in Fall River District Court on charges of possession of a Class A drug and caretaker neglect of a disabled person.

Officers responded to 107 Green St. around 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday and found a woman performing CPR on 14-year-old David Almond. The teen, who was emaciated and malnourished, was rushed to Charlton Memorial Hospital where he was later declared dead, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors described a squalid and drug-infested home, and said a preliminary investigation showed fentanyl in David Almond's system. An autopsy is being conducted, and further charges may be pending, the DA's office said.

Almond and Coleman were ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing sometime next week. The investigation into David Almond's death remains active.

Coleman faces additional charges of assault and battery on a police officer and obstruction of justice under the state's witness intimidation statute. She allegedly destroyed a cellphone and assaulted a police officer who tried to prevent her from destroying that evidence.

David Almond was severely autistic and a triplet. One of his brothers, also with an intellectual disability, was a victim of neglect, the DA's office said. He and a two-year-old child were removed from the home and conveyed to the Department of Children and Families. A third brother lives in a residential program.