18 Nov 2025 3 min read

Man Faces Weapons Charges After SWAT Siege at Somerville Home; Woman’s Remains Found Inside.

A Somerville neighborhood was thrown into chaos after a SWAT standoff led to the arrest of a man accused of stockpiling illegal weapons — and the shocking discovery of a woman’s remains inside his home. Investigators say the case is rapidly evolving and could soon escalate into a homicide probe.

SWAT teams surround a Somerville home moments before breaching the door and uncovering a woman’s remains.

SOMERVILLE — A quiet Somerset County block was flipped into a crime-scene fortress Monday night after a tense SWAT standoff ended with officers uncovering a woman’s remains inside a Somerville home — and the man they say is responsible now staring down a slate of weapons charges that could put him away for decades.

What began as a routine welfare check spiraled into one of the most chilling law-enforcement operations Somerville has seen in years, unraveling a grim mystery behind a locked suburban door and triggering questions about warning signs no one spotted until it was too late.

A STANDOFF THAT SHOOK THE BLOCK

Neighbors on Mercer Street said they heard shouting, metal slamming, and tactical boots” as Somerset County SWAT teams descended on the modest single-family home around 6 p.m.

Police say officers arrived to speak with 40-year-old Daniel Kross, who had been the subject of multiple recent welfare and disorderly-person calls. But when officers approached the residence, the situation exploded.

According to authorities, Kross barricaded himself inside the house and refused to comply with commands, prompting the activation of the county’s Emergency Response Team. What should have been a brief encounter turned into a full-blown tactical deployment — armored vehicles, shields, the works.

THE DISCOVERY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

After a nearly three-hour standoff, SWAT officers breached the door and took Kross into custody without shots fired — but what they found inside the home turned the tense operation into a homicide investigation.

Authorities say officers discovered the decomposed remains of an adult woman in a rear bedroom. Her identity remains unconfirmed publicly, but investigators believe she may have been living in the home or connected to Kross in a personal relationship.

Sources familiar with the investigation describe the scene as “disturbingly deteriorated,” raising the possibility the body had been inside the home for weeks.

Police have not filed homicide charges — at least not yet — but investigators stressed that forensic testing, autopsy results, and digital records will likely dictate the path forward.

“We’re looking at a very complex timeline and cause of death,” said one official. “This isn’t over.”

A STOCKPILE OF ILLEGAL FIREPOWER

What is crystal clear, officials say, is the weaponry found inside.

According to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, officers recovered:

An unlicensed handgun
Multiple high-capacity magazines
Hundreds of rounds of assorted ammunition
Improvised components consistent with ghost-gun manufacturing
Tactical knives and body armor

Kross now faces a battery of charges, including:

Unlawful possession of a weapon
Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose
Possession of high-capacity magazines
Possession of hollow-point ammunition
Failure to surrender firearms under a restraining order (pending confirmation)

Prosecutors are expected to seek pretrial detention, citing danger to the community and the disturbing circumstances surrounding the recovered remains.

NEIGHBORS SAY SOMETHING FELT “OFF” FOR MONTHS

Residents described Kross as reclusive and volatile — a man who kept to himself but occasionally sparked conflicts.

“You’d hear him arguing with no one,” said a neighbor who asked not to be named. “I always felt something was wrong in that house. None of us expected this.”

Another neighbor described seeing police at the home “more than once” this year, though details remain unclear.

Somerville officials, blindsided by the developments, are urging patience as investigators piece together what happened behind closed doors on Mercer Street.

A COMMUNITY GRAPPLING WITH THE AFTERMATH

The chilling combination of a SWAT deployment, illegal weapons, and a body found inside has rattled the community — a normally calm, historic town known for its downtown restaurants and courthouse bustle.

Now, residents want answers:
Who was the woman?
How long had she been there?
And what exactly was happening inside that home before Monday night?

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office says more information will be released once the medical examiner completes identification and cause-of-death analysis.

For now, police are calling it an “active and sensitive investigation.”