Friday, January 25, 2013
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 …
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Co-Defendant called to the stand on Day 4 of cold case murder trial.
Michael Ferreira threatened to kill Walter Shelley and Edward Alan Brown if they ever talked about the events that led the death of Tewksbury teen Johnny McCabe in a vacant lot in Lowell in September, 1969. But that's exactly what Brown did Friday on Day 4 of Ferreira's 1st Degree Murder trial in Woburn's Middlesex Superior Court. Brown recounted how fellow Tewksbury High students Ferreira, 16, and Shelley, 18, came to his home on the night of Sept. 26 and recruited him in a mission to find the 15-year-old McCabe and "teach him a lesson" for flirting with Shelley's 13-year-old girlfriend, Marla Shiner. Brown said they found McCabe hitchhiking on Route 38, after having left a dance at the Knights of Columbus. He said Ferreira got out of …
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 …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
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 …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Prosecutors in conversations with Walter Shelley and his attorney.
The McCabe family waited more than 41 years for arrests to be made in the murder of their son/brother. Their pursuit of justice may be nearing a conclusion. In April, 2011, law enforcement officials arrested Edward Brown of Londonderry, NH, Michael Ferreira of Salem NH and Walter Shelley of Tewksbury in connection with the death of Johnny McCabe. The 15-year-old Tewksbury High student was walking home from a dance at the Knights of Columbus on Sept. 26, 1969, when he was grabbed off the street, driven to a vacant lot in Lowell and tied up in such a way that it caused him to suffocate. Brown, 60, whose confession during a March 2011 interrogation led to the arrests, has been charged with manslaughter. Shelley, 61, and Ferreira, 58, have …
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Segment aired over the summer was pre-empted in New England.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Defendant was 15 years old when he and two others allegedly murdered Johnny McCabe in 1969.
Updated at 7 p.m. Lowell District Court Judge Patricia Flynn has ruled there is probable cause for Michael Ferreira, one of three men charged in connection with the death of Johnny McCabe back in 1969, to be tried as an adult for first-degree murder. “We are pleased with the Judge’s ruling which found probable cause to have Michael Ferreira be tried as an adult for the murder of John McCabe," said District Attorney Gerald Leone. "We will now continue to prepare to hold all three defendants accountable for the death of John McCabe in a court of law.” McCabe's family, who spent over four decades wondering who had killed Johnny and why, were pleased with the decision. Roberta Donovan, Johnny McCabe's sister, said her mother, Evelyn, said "…
stephanie
3:53 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013
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