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A dead whale has washed up on a beach in Marblehead. The whale was spotted on Preston Beach Thursday afternoon. Police said they referred the case to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NBC10 Boston has reached out to officials for more information. There are numerous organizations trained to respond to stranded or deceased marine animals. If you come across one, you’re encouraged to report it. NOAA has a list of organizations by region here. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Get updates on what’s happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.

A Massachusetts man who was just 14 when he raped and killed his teacher over a decade ago is planning to change his plea in an assault that allegedly happened while he was in custody months later. Philip Chism was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the October 2013 killing of math teacher Colleen Ritzer at Danvers High School. In June of 2014, when Chism was 15, he allegedly attacked a Massachusetts Department of Youth Services worker at a facility in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that Chism, now 25, “is expected to plead guilty” in that attack Friday in Boston Juvenile Court. Chism is accused of following the 29-year-old woman into the bathroom, using a pencil as a weapon and leaving her with injuries to her head, neck, face and back. In that incident, Chism was charged with attempted murder by strangulation, assault with intent to murder, kidnapping and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. While Chism’s lawyers appeared in court for a hearing in the DYS case the day after his murder conviction in 2015, it has still not gone to trial, the Eagle-Tribune newspaper reported in October.

A New Hampshire man who pleaded guilty to a charge tied to a plot to extort Harvard University for bitcoin by making bomb threats was sentenced Thursday. William Giordani, 55, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was arrested last year on charges including making an extortionate bomb threat. That charge was dropped, and in January he pleaded guilty in federal court to concealing a federal felony, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts. Giordani was sentenced to three years probation. The case stems from an incident last April 13, 2023, when someone called Harvard University’s police department electronically disguising their voice and warning that there were three bombs on campus. The caller said students would be killed unless the school conducted a bitcoin transfer within 96 minutes. The suspect called multiple times before eventually telling police they could find the first bomb at the Science Center Plaza. The area was evacuated and police found and destroyed a device. According to previous reports, the device had a metal locking safe, a package of wire, a quantity of fireworks and a small rectangular box, police said. The device was later determined to be a hoax. Investigators said Giordani was recruited in the plot through a Craigslist ad. The ad was asking for someone to buy fireworks in New Hampshire and pick up some other items in Massachusetts — including wire, a metal locking safe and a bag — and deliver the items to his son at Harvard. After Giordani collected the items, the person he was communicating with told him to leave the bag on a bench in the plaza. Investigators said that at some point Giordani became suspicious that the items may be used to make a bomb, but rather than reporting anything to law enforcement, he allegedly deleted incriminating text messages and told his girlfriend not to tell anyone about it. He also went on the run from police, according to prosecutors. Giordani also took steps to hide from police after they made attempts to reach him in order not to reveal his role in delivering the bag, investigators said. Prosecutors said they agreed to accept Giordani’s guilty plea given that they believed he was driven in part by a drug habit and that he has made efforts to remain in a recovery program. No one else has been charged in connection with the case. The Associated Press contributed to this report. More Massachusetts stories whitman Jan 10 Photo shows crumbled wall of vacant building after partial collapse Massachusetts Jan 10 Major flooding across New England after storm drops torrential rain

A Massachusetts man who was 19 years old when he drowned his father in a Duxbury pond has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jack Callahan, now 22, told police in 2021 that he tried to exorcise a “demon” from his father, 57-year-old Scott Callahan, by baptizing him at Island Creek Pond. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday Jack Callahan had been charged with murder, but that a jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter at the end of an eight-day trial. Prosecutors say Callahan’s mother called 911 around 2 a.m. on June 28, 2021, reporting that her son was acting erratically. She told police that her ex-husband, the teen’s father, was missing in the area of Island Creek Pond. When police arrived at the home, they found the younger Callahan distraught and hyperventilating, authorities said. Police and fire crews responded to the pond to find Scott Callahan submerged. He was brought to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, where he was pronounced dead. Family members told NBC10 Boston at the time they were shocked and confused by the news. “He’s a good kid,” said Callahan’s uncle, Bill Hall Jr. “He’s smart, he’s nice. He’s not a violent person.” Investigators determined that Jack Callahan had picked up his father in Boston, and they took a rideshare back to Duxbury, where the two were dropped off near the pond. Prosecutors say there was a physical altercation before the drowning. The Boston Globe reported that Scott Callahan had walked away from an alcohol abuse treatment center, and that his son picked him up at a Boston bar. According to the Globe, Jack Callahan said he was exorcising a demon named “Dirty Dan,” telling police he gave his father a choice to go to heaven or hell and explaining, “I believe he chose hell.” Callahan is due to be sentenced Friday, May 3. More Duxbury news Duxbury Jan 25 1 year later, Duxbury community gathers to mourn 3 slain children Mar 8 Man charged with stealing Black Lives Matter banners from Duxbury church

A man was fatally shot in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Wednesday night and his suspected killer was arrested, authorities said. Jason Rivera was charged with murder and is being held without bail, the Essex District Attorney’s Office and Lawrence police said in a statement Thursday. The shooting took place on or near Margin Street on Wednesday evening, authorities said. The man who was shot was rushed to a local hospital, then a Boston hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He hasn’t been identified. It wasn’t immediately clear when or how Rivera was arrested, or if the 28-year-old from Lawrence had an attorney who could speak to the charge. He was due back in court May 17. The shooting remained under investigation. More Lawrence news lawrence Mar 28 Dozens of Lawrence residents lose power after car crashes into utility poles lawrence Mar 27 Man wanted in Christmas Eve killing at Lawrence nightclub