Opening Arguments Today in McCabe Cold Case Murder Trial
Case to be heard in Woburn Superior Court.
Opening arguments will be heard today in Woburn Superior Court in the 1st degree murder trial of Michael Ferreira.
Ferreira is one of three men facing charges in connection with the 1969 death of Tewksbury teen Johnny McCabe. The 15-year-old Tewksbury High student was found dead in a vacant lot in Lowell after disappearing while walking home from a dance at the Knights of Columbus on Route 38.
Ferreira, 58, of Salem, NH, was arrested in April 2011, along with Walter Shelley, 61, of Tewksbury and Edward Brown of Londonderry, NH. In addition to the top count of murder, Ferreira was also charged with perjury and lying to a grand jury.
Brown has been charged with manslaughter and is expected to be the star witness in Ferreira's trial. He is expected to plead guilty in exchange for a sentencing recommendation.
Shelley is charged with first degree murder and intimidating a witness. There have been mixed reports as to whether Shelley has agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony against Ferreira.
Prosecutors believe the three men abducted McCabe off the street because they believed the teen had been flirting with Shelley's girlfriend. They drove to the vacant lot in Lowell, where it's alleged Shelley and Brown held McCabe down, while Ferreira bound and gagged him in such a way that it led to his asphyxiation.
Marc
2:16 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
I think this is absolutely disgusting..1969? All these years go by without a word and they are still going to try and plea bargain with these people..They should rot in prison every single one of them..As far as I'm concerned they got to live their lives, get married have kids buy nice houses in the suburbs and now that they are at the age of retirement, let them finish out their scum years in prison and die there..I dont think plea bargaining with any of them is justice for this at all.
Who Me?
2:46 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Over 40 years has passed. Sometimes these cases are hard to get convictions after so much time has passed. Anyway, as I read it, the plea deal is to strengthen the case against Ferreira.