Monday, January 28, 2013
William McCabe being treated at Lowell General Saints Campus.
William McCabe, the father of murder victim Johnny McCabe, suffered a heart attack Monday morning and was taken to Lowell General Hospital Saints Campus. According to his daughter, Roberta Donovan, McCabe is also being treated for kidney failure. McCabe, 85, had not been feeling well, and left the murder trial of Michael Ferreira early last Wednesday and he was not in the courtroom for closing arguments on Thursday. On Friday, jurors returned a verdict of "not guilty" for Ferreira on 1st and 2nd degree murder charges in connection with the death of Johnny McCabe. Donovan has said the verdict has been very hard on her parents, her sister and herself.
"Not guilty" leaves Johnny McCabe's friends and family grasping for answers.
More than four decades after Johnny McCabe's body was found bound and gagged in a vacant lot in Lowell, friends and the family find themselves still seeking justice for the Tewksbury teen. On Friday, a Middlesex Superior Court jury found Michael Ferreira "Not Guilty" in connection with McCabe's death. The verdict shocked and horrified membrs of the McCabe family, their friends and supporters. Here is a sampling of some of the reactions to the verdict from the story on Tewksbury Patch, the Tewksbury Patch Facebook Page and the John McCabe Tribute Page on Facebook. Deborah Anne McCabe-Atamanchuk: Our dad has made it his crusade to bring John s murderer to justice. Brown confessed, being there and helping hold him down. The jury finds …
Friday, January 25, 2013
District attorney Gerry Leone says he will continue to pursue 1st Degree murder case against Walter Shelley.
Updated at 1 p.m. A Middlesex Superior Court jury has found Michael Ferreira not guilty in connection with the 1969 death of Tewksbury teen Johnny McCabe. Despite the testimony of Edward Alan Brown, who admitted to his role in the murder and implicated Ferreira, the Salem, NH man was acquitted. The jury deliberated roughly five hours before announcing their verdict. District Attorney Gerry Leone said he was disappointed in the decision of the jury but that he intended to pursue the murder charge against the third man indicted in connection with the crime, Walter Shelley of Tewksbury. “Although we are disappointed with the verdict, we respect the right of the jury to render this decision today and thank them for their service to the …
Jurors will have the option to convict on 1st or 2nd degree murder.
About the only facts that Assistant District Attorney Tom O'Reilly and Defense Atty. Eric Wilson agree on is that Johnny McCabe was murdered some time in the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 1969 and that his death was a horrible tragedy. Beyond that, the men spun starkly different tales regarding how that death may have occurred during their closing arguments in the murder trial of Michael Ferreira. Middlesex Superior Court jurors began deliberating Ferreira's fate at around 1 p.m. A verdict is not expected today, as the jury will need to weed through dozens of pieces of evidence and several days worth of witness testimony. In his instructions, Judge David Ricciardone told the jurors they had the option to acquit Ferreira or to convict on…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Jury is expected to begin deliberations this afternoon.
Jury deliberations could begin as early as this afternoon (Jan. 24) in the murder trial of former Tewksbury resident Michael Ferreira. Both the prosecution and the defense wrapped up their cases on Wednesday and closing arguments in the highly publicized "cold case" are scheduled for this morning in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn. Ferreira, who now lives in Salem, NH, is one of three men arrested in 2011 and charged with kidnapping Tewksbury 15-year-old Johnny McCabe off the street back in 1969, driving him to a vacant lot in Lowell and binding and gagging him in such a way that he died from asphyxiation. Ferreira was 16 at the time of the killing. While the prosecution concedes the death of McCabe was not premeditated, they have …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Prosecution expected to rest its case today in murder trial of Michael Ferreira.
A defense attorney for defendant Michael Ferreira aggressively cross-examined the lead detective looking into the 1969 murder of Johnny McCabe, suggesting that she ignored two viable suspects before making arrests in April 2011. Ferreira, Edward Alan Brown and Walter Shelley were arrested for the kidnapping and murder of the Tewksbury teen after Brown confessed during interrogation by Lowell Police and State Police investigators in March 2011. Ferreira is the first of the three to stand trial, charged with 1st degree murder in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn. During cross-examination, attorney Eric Wilson repeatedly asked Lowell Det. Linda Coughlin about Richard Santos and Robert Morely two men who were considered possible suspects …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Bits of knowledge to help make you the smartest person at your breakfast table.
Here are 5 pieces of information designed to get your Tuesday off to a flying start and to help make you the smartest person caught in rush-hour traffic on I-93. 1. Your 3-Day Local Weather Forecast: 2. Reader Comment of the Day: "Great article, Don. I know it is tough for some veterans to discuss wartime, but your approach to opening the conversation will be very helpful for many. I have known, and even lived with veterans in my life and consider those individuals to be heroes. If an alteration in our attitudes toward heroes and successful people shift, our society will be better off because of it. Many (not all) war protesters DO come off as being anti-troops and veterans. The expression "being rich" sounds like an insult today. And our …
Friday, January 18, 2013
Testimony continues in the murder trial of Michael Ferreira, accused of killing Johnny McCabe in 1969.
The prosecution in the murder trial of Michael Ferreira continued to build its case on Thursday, calling one witness who identified a car allegedly used in the crime and another who testified that the suspect actually confessed to her. Ferreira, of Salem NH, is one of three men charged in connection with the 1969 death of Tewksbury teen Johnny McCabe. Along with Walter Shelley and Edward Brown, Ferreira is accused of kidnapping McCabe off the street and taking him to a vacant lot in Lowell, where they allegedly tied him up and gagged him in such a way that it lead to his death by asphyxiation. During questioning from Assistant District Attorney Tom O'Reilly in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, Elaine (Callahan) Sutton testified that in …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
William McCabe emotional as he testifies about son's disappearance and murder.
The father of the victim and the lead investigator on the case 43 years ago took the stand as testimony began in the murder trial of Michael Ferreira. Ferreira is one of three men charged in connection with the 1969 death of Tewksbury teen Johnny McCabe. Along with Walter Shelley and Edward Brown, Ferreira is accused of kidnapping McCabe off the street and taking him to a vacant lot in Lowell, where they allegedly tied him up and gagged him in such a way that it lead to his death by asphyxiation. William McCabe, 85, his voice cracking with emotion, testified about his son and night he disappeared, according to a report published on WCVB.com. He testified that he was not home when his son left for the dance that night and did not recall if …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Jurors hear opening arguments on Day 1 of Cold Case Murder Trial.
The attorney for accused murder Michael Ferreira laid out his strategy during opening arguments in Woburn District Court on Tuesday. Defense Attorney Eric Wilson told jurors that the prosecution's star witness is a liar. Ferreira, 58, of Salem, NH, is accused of 1st degree murder in the 1969 death of Tewksbury 15-year-old Johnny McCabe. Prosecutors allege that Ferreira, Walter Shelley and Edward Alan Brown, all Tewksbury High students at the time, kidnapped McCabe as he walked along Main Street, beat him, then drove him to a vacant lot in Lowell where he was bound in such a way that he died from asphyxiation. Brown, who now lives in Londonderry, NH, is charged with manslaughter in the case. He is the key witness for the prosecution and is …
Janellen27
7:03 pm on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Agreed, Teraldine. What tramendous heartache he must have lived all these years with. And, the rest of the family, as well. more ›