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 …
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 …
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 …
Sunday, September 30, 2012
There are several ongoing criminal cases with strong ties to Tewksbury. We have put together a listing of upcoming court dates for each.
There are several high-profile criminal cases presently in the court system with strong ties to Tewksbury or Tewksbury residents. Here is an update on the status of these cases and the next court dates for each of the individuals involved. McCabe was a 15-year-old Tewksbury High student back in 1969 when he was allegedly grabbed off Main Street by three other TMHS students, beaten, driven to a vacant lot in Lowell and bound in such a way that he died of asphyxiation. After being a cold case for more than 40 years, arrests were made in April, 2011. Walter Shelley -- The Tewksbury resident, 61, will be the first of two defendants to stand trial for 1st degree murder for McCabe's death. The trial begins in Lowell Superior Court on Nov. 6. …
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 …
Friday, August 12, 2011
Judge ruled he could be charged as an adult, despite being 15 at the time of the killing.
A Middlesex County Grand Jury has indicted a third man in connection with the 1969 murder of Tewksbury teen Johnny McCabe. According to District Attorney Gerald Leone, Michael Ferreira, 57, of Salem, NH, was indicted on one count of first degree murder. He will be arraigned in Lowell Superior Court, but a date has not yet been set. Ferreira was 15 years old when he, Walter Shelley and Edward Brown allegedly, all Tewksbury residents at the time, kidnapped McCabe as he walked home from a dance at the Knights of Columbus on a September night in 1969. According to investigators, Ferriera and Brown beat McCabe, a Tewksbury High student in the back seat of the car while Shelley drove to a vacant lot in Lowell. The trio allegedly bound and gagged…
Kevin
3:13 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
By virtue of your statement " all of the evidence " you imply that either all of the evidence was not presented or there was exculpatory evidence that created reasonable doubt. There can be no debate, if Mr. Brown said he was there and participated in the prank gone wrong with the defendant, then any reasonable person would conclude that the defendant was a party to the crime. There cannot be any… more ›