MA MA - Michael Baer O'Gorman, 12, Gloucester, 18 March 1974
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Thanks for starting this post, dotr. I've been researching Michael's abduction and murder for about three years now. It's not much talked about in Gloucester anymore. James' article encompasses much of what we uncovered and what is known about the case with a few exceptions, which I'll add here. As I continue to review my files, I will continue to add information.
The first person I contacted back in late 2013 was the O'Gorman family attorney. He was reluctant to discuss particulars of the case because of rumors that had abounded in the city implicating family members. I talked to numerous people that lived in Gloucester in the time around the murder and discovery of the body, and some of those people recalled the rumors as well. However, no evidence ever substantiated that anyone in the family was involved in Michael's abduction and murder. Tragically, the local gossip likely hindered the police investigation, and certainly was damaging to Michael's survivors.
Michael's family was prominent in Gloucester. His father was a respected art historian who worked for a time at the Cape Ann Historical Society and Museum. He traveled in a social circle of wealthy and influential Gloucester residents that included the likes of famed sculptor Walker Hancock, one of the Monuments Men, who was a distant neighbor in Lanesville.
I have yet to visit the rest area where Michael's body was found, as it was closed in 1983 after State Police sting operations were conducted at rest stops throughout the state. According to a Boston Globe article from that year, Mass State Police were conducting operations to reduce the frequency of the use of rest areas for homosexual encounters. The Manchester rest area was one such place. Several people with whom I spoke alluded to the Manchester rest stop as a "lovers' lane," teenage drinking spot, and place for sexual liaisons between men. One person, a retired police officer, claimed that it was a preferred place favored by older men to bring their younger partners.
Search dogs followed Michael's scent from his school through the woods in Dogtown up to Cherry Street, where the trail was lost. A right on Cherry Street would have taken Michael towards his home in Bay View. A left would have taken him to Poplar Street and then to the Grant Circle rotary where he was allegedly seen hitchhiking. Had he been picked up on Rte 128, and brought south to Manchester, his abductor would have had to make a u-turn to return to the rest area on the northbound side of the highway.
Witnesses reported seeing Michael in the months following his abduction, as far afield as Blandford, Mass.; however, none proved true -- Michael likely never left Cape Ann, as his body was recovered in the same clothes as he was last seen wearing.
The day prior to Michael's disappearance was rainy -- thus the woods that he possibly traveled through would have likely been muddy and rugged, as would the wooded area behind the rest area. Michael's assailant would have had to have access to a vehicle, and been strong and fit enough to move a 100 lb body through muddy and fairly rugged terrain, then bury it at the location which was thirty or forty feet below the top of a granite knoll. The body was concealed beneath stones described as over a foot in diameter.
I suspect Michael knew his murderer and may have planned to meet him, and that his assailant was local to the area. He would have known when the rest area was heavily trafficked, and been familiar with the terrain behind it. I also suspect that his attacker may have assaulted or attempted to assault Michael, and then killed him.
As I stated above, I will add more to this thread as I review my notes. I hope that a fresh set of eyes can uncover something that I've missed. James' article prompted no new leads that I know of, which is unfortunate. Gloucester is a small city, and the Bay View area is much smaller and insular.
The first person I contacted back in late 2013 was the O'Gorman family attorney. He was reluctant to discuss particulars of the case because of rumors that had abounded in the city implicating family members. I talked to numerous people that lived in Gloucester in the time around the murder and discovery of the body, and some of those people recalled the rumors as well. However, no evidence ever substantiated that anyone in the family was involved in Michael's abduction and murder. Tragically, the local gossip likely hindered the police investigation, and certainly was damaging to Michael's survivors.
Michael's family was prominent in Gloucester. His father was a respected art historian who worked for a time at the Cape Ann Historical Society and Museum. He traveled in a social circle of wealthy and influential Gloucester residents that included the likes of famed sculptor Walker Hancock, one of the Monuments Men, who was a distant neighbor in Lanesville.
I have yet to visit the rest area where Michael's body was found, as it was closed in 1983 after State Police sting operations were conducted at rest stops throughout the state. According to a Boston Globe article from that year, Mass State Police were conducting operations to reduce the frequency of the use of rest areas for homosexual encounters. The Manchester rest area was one such place. Several people with whom I spoke alluded to the Manchester rest stop as a "lovers' lane," teenage drinking spot, and place for sexual liaisons between men. One person, a retired police officer, claimed that it was a preferred place favored by older men to bring their younger partners.
Search dogs followed Michael's scent from his school through the woods in Dogtown up to Cherry Street, where the trail was lost. A right on Cherry Street would have taken Michael towards his home in Bay View. A left would have taken him to Poplar Street and then to the Grant Circle rotary where he was allegedly seen hitchhiking. Had he been picked up on Rte 128, and brought south to Manchester, his abductor would have had to make a u-turn to return to the rest area on the northbound side of the highway.
Witnesses reported seeing Michael in the months following his abduction, as far afield as Blandford, Mass.; however, none proved true -- Michael likely never left Cape Ann, as his body was recovered in the same clothes as he was last seen wearing.
The day prior to Michael's disappearance was rainy -- thus the woods that he possibly traveled through would have likely been muddy and rugged, as would the wooded area behind the rest area. Michael's assailant would have had to have access to a vehicle, and been strong and fit enough to move a 100 lb body through muddy and fairly rugged terrain, then bury it at the location which was thirty or forty feet below the top of a granite knoll. The body was concealed beneath stones described as over a foot in diameter.
I suspect Michael knew his murderer and may have planned to meet him, and that his assailant was local to the area. He would have known when the rest area was heavily trafficked, and been familiar with the terrain behind it. I also suspect that his attacker may have assaulted or attempted to assault Michael, and then killed him.
As I stated above, I will add more to this thread as I review my notes. I hope that a fresh set of eyes can uncover something that I've missed. James' article prompted no new leads that I know of, which is unfortunate. Gloucester is a small city, and the Bay View area is much smaller and insular.
This past winter, police in Georgetown, MA, searched the house of a recently-deceased man whom another man implicated in the bludgeoning death of a boy in about 1970.
Georgetown is about 35 miles from Gloucester, where Michael was last seen. One of the items recovered in the search of the Georgetown home was a Beverly. MA soccer jersey and the subject was a Beverly youth soccer coach. Beverly borders Manchester, where the rest stop once was and Michael's body was recovered.
http://thelocalne.ws/2016/12/28/georgetown-search-was-for-body-of-boy-murdered-in-1970/
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Georgetown is about 35 miles from Gloucester, where Michael was last seen. One of the items recovered in the search of the Georgetown home was a Beverly. MA soccer jersey and the subject was a Beverly youth soccer coach. Beverly borders Manchester, where the rest stop once was and Michael's body was recovered.
http://thelocalne.ws/2016/12/28/georgetown-search-was-for-body-of-boy-murdered-in-1970/
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From your link, part 2.
This is really freaky stuff, hope the person has been looked at in regards to other murdered and missing children,both male and female, imo.
The mutilated dolls are beyond the pale, as for the photo below, was this a mannequin that was found in the man's house?!
http://thelocalne.ws/2016/12/29/des...lice-find-no-body-found-in-georgetown-search/
Attachments
Haskell and Witness A were alleged lovers, Witness A was positively identified by victims of an alleged abduction, and Haskell fit the description of the other man in the vehicle. Both are old enough to have been familiar with the cruising spot in Manchester, at the now closed rest stop, near where Michael's remains were found. Witness A is still alive.
Just found the thread concerning the search for bones in the house.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...rgetown-Police-Searching-for-Body-in-Basement
I think the rest stop and it's use is significant. The killer likely was familiar with it and its use. It would also explain why no witnesses came forward -- they would have outed themselves. Also, the connection to a rest stop frequented by gay men for encounters could explain why there has been so much local resistance to discussing the case.
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The rest stop was closed by the state in 1983 after state police stings.
A hundred or so yards behind it is a knoll where the body was buried.
I think the killer was a frequent visitor to that rest stop. He was familiar with the terrain behind it -- he carried a hundred pound body into the woods in muddy terrain to where he buried it. He had to be fit and have access to a vehicle. He could have killed Michael anywhere, but I think it was in the woods. It's risky to drive with a body in the car.
I think he picked up a vulnerable Michael, who was allegedly hitchhiking. He may have even known him. From Grant Circle to the rest stop is seven or eight miles in the opposite direction from Michael's home. He would have had to have had Michael's trust or a way to coerce him. Maybe he offered him something. Most likely the murderer is from Cape Ann. I think the killer must still live in the area.
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A hundred or so yards behind it is a knoll where the body was buried.
I think the killer was a frequent visitor to that rest stop. He was familiar with the terrain behind it -- he carried a hundred pound body into the woods in muddy terrain to where he buried it. He had to be fit and have access to a vehicle. He could have killed Michael anywhere, but I think it was in the woods. It's risky to drive with a body in the car.
I think he picked up a vulnerable Michael, who was allegedly hitchhiking. He may have even known him. From Grant Circle to the rest stop is seven or eight miles in the opposite direction from Michael's home. He would have had to have had Michael's trust or a way to coerce him. Maybe he offered him something. Most likely the murderer is from Cape Ann. I think the killer must still live in the area.
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The O'Gorman family engaged the services of a lawyer shortly after Michael disappeared. The lawyer was the point person for the police and the press.
He stated that all of the alleged sightings of Michael were disproven by the police investigation. James' request for reports detailed almost nothing related to the investigation.
One thing I haven't been able to reconcile is a report that a Gloucester resident who had recently returned from overseas encountered Michael in North Station in Boston a few months after he was abducted. The witness alleged that he had spoken with Michael, who told him he was staying with friends in Boston. The police investigated the address that the witness provided and neighbors said they recognized the boy.
I have been unable to locate any information on this witness. He described Michael in clothes that didn't match the description provided by the police and in which his body was found. The witness lived in the downtown waterfront area, whereas Michael lived in a more remote part of town. He was significantly older than Michael. I found a yearbook entry for who I assume is his sister, who was closer to Michael's age, but nothing about him.
What I find unusual is how he recognized Michael, and how he claimed to have had a conversation with him, despite how the evidence indicated that Michael never left Cape Ann, and was likely killed shortly after his abduction.
I'm just tossing things out there as I review my file. More to come later.
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He stated that all of the alleged sightings of Michael were disproven by the police investigation. James' request for reports detailed almost nothing related to the investigation.
One thing I haven't been able to reconcile is a report that a Gloucester resident who had recently returned from overseas encountered Michael in North Station in Boston a few months after he was abducted. The witness alleged that he had spoken with Michael, who told him he was staying with friends in Boston. The police investigated the address that the witness provided and neighbors said they recognized the boy.
I have been unable to locate any information on this witness. He described Michael in clothes that didn't match the description provided by the police and in which his body was found. The witness lived in the downtown waterfront area, whereas Michael lived in a more remote part of town. He was significantly older than Michael. I found a yearbook entry for who I assume is his sister, who was closer to Michael's age, but nothing about him.
What I find unusual is how he recognized Michael, and how he claimed to have had a conversation with him, despite how the evidence indicated that Michael never left Cape Ann, and was likely killed shortly after his abduction.
I'm just tossing things out there as I review my file. More to come later.
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alphawrench
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Dear Jude 061, new member alphawrench here.
I was one of Michael O'Gormans friends, one of his best friends.
Our illustrious mayor and the fire dept. captain only knew Mike from fuller school for less than a year. They know nothing about the boy besides saying hi in a Fuller school hallway.
I may, or may not, have info as to the circumstances and people that had been in the periphery
his murder, involved or not.
Michaels demise has had me racking my memory for 30 plus years.
Maybe I can lend some insight to you, and you can chase my potential leads.
I was one of Michael O'Gormans friends, one of his best friends.
Our illustrious mayor and the fire dept. captain only knew Mike from fuller school for less than a year. They know nothing about the boy besides saying hi in a Fuller school hallway.
I may, or may not, have info as to the circumstances and people that had been in the periphery
his murder, involved or not.
Michaels demise has had me racking my memory for 30 plus years.
Maybe I can lend some insight to you, and you can chase my potential leads.
Are you still close to Gloucester?
1-978-675-5883Welcome to Ws alphawrench!
The boy who never came home
- By James Niedzinski
- Aug 14, 2014
''With the 40th anniversary of Michael’s disappearance passing earlier this year, the case sparked the interest of a Gloucester High School teacher, Jude Seminara. Researching other local history for his students, Seminara came upon the case of the 12-year-old boy who left school back in 1974 — and never came home.
“It was interesting,” he said. “There were really no answers.”
That’s still true today, and Aiello, Seminara and others say they’re concerned his story will get lost in the shuffle of time.
“The longer it goes, the more likelihood that people will forget about him,” Aiello said. “Just like in the Pike case, maybe someone will feel guilty and say something.”
In 2009, Mike Lane and other Gloucester police detectives reopened an investigation into the 1976 murder of Pike’s Funeral Home employee Eleanor Wadsworth, recognizing that many of the key players in the case were still in the area. Norman Pike, grandson of the funeral home’s then-owner, pleaded guilty to manslaughter related to the decades-old crime just last year, while Keith Ireland also pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of breaking and entering in the case. The alleged shooter, Richard Kennedy, had died in the interim, police said.
While Seminara worries that revisiting Michael’s disappearance may reopen old wounds, he believes it shouldn’t be a roadblock to seeing his killer identified, and it might lead to some semblance of justice.
While the case has been inactive for decades, it’s not closed.
“Murders are never closed,” Gloucester police Chief Leonard Campanello said. “Any new information we welcome.”
The first investigation and search involved local police and at one point a New Jersey psychic who talked of seeing “running water” and the “number 28.”
The investigations were also clouded by what Barry Weiner, a prominent Boston attorney who was an O’Gorman family friend, describes as rumors “hurtful” to the O’Gorman family. Weiner represented the O’Gorman family at the time and still serves as a family spokesman today. Members of the O’Gorman family declined to be interviewed for this story.
The Times filed a state public records request with the Essex County district attorney’s office in March, seeking information about the O’Gorman case. Similar requests to Manchester and Gloucester police yielded little. Manchester police and the DA’s office did release reports from the initial search and discovery of the body, but not from the investigation — including whether there were ever any confirmed suspects.
The office of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, while conceding the investigation has long been “inactive,” still considers the case open. While the office is hopeful new leads may emerge, releasing any information would “seriously compromise our ability to assess the validity of any new leads that may emerge, and thus our ability to bring those responsible to justice,” a statement from the agency reads.
The response from Assistant District Attorney David F. O’Sullivan also notes that there is no statute of limitations when it comes to murder. “This office is hopeful, as always, that new leads may emerge,” he wrote.''