Found Deceased MA - Henry Bedard, 15, found murdered, Swampscott, 16 Dec 1974

New Posts

spidersleuth said:
View attachment 221689 View attachment 221690
Click to expand...

Good post! These recent news articles had very good photos of the markings on the bat. I immediately noticed the "sword" part of the carving. IIRC you were the one who brought it up here in discussion a while back. Good clue and I hope LE is able to make something of it.

ETA: The Boston Globe article I copied above, is actually not a reprint of an old article, but in the online article today, a reprint of an old article is included as a graphic.
 
The boy (of course now a man 45 yrs later) left this comment on the thread, he’s the one who found Henry’s body. He’s named in the chronicle segment and the comments on that thread are public so I didn’t block out his name here.

edited for clarity. D09C3FAB-378B-454B-843C-11B86B9930F5.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I lived in a small town in central mass for 12 years and played town baseball and basketball. I knew kids from 3 to 4 towns away from mine. Some were friends and others you had a beef with. Lets not rule out k m just yet
 
Tommy2step said:
I lived in a small town in central mass for 12 years and played town baseball and basketball. I knew kids from 3 to 4 towns away from mine. Some were friends and others you had a beef with. Lets not rule out k m just yet
Click to expand...
It looks like KM was only involved in golf, no other sports.
 
Tommy2step said:
I lived in a small town in central mass for 12 years and played town baseball and basketball. I knew kids from 3 to 4 towns away from mine. Some were friends and others you had a beef with. Lets not rule out k m
Click to expand...

There is nothing that I've seen to rule km 'in'
 
Let's think about logistics. How did a 14/15 year old KM get to swampscott from a neighboring town, with a bat in hand, in the middle of winter? ride a bike? take a bus? walk? Seems like people would have seen him...and reported to the police that they had seen him after news broke that a kid had been murdered with a bat.

I believe the murderer was a kid who lived in the immediate area.
 
PerhapsIt'sYou said:
Let's think about logistics. How did a 14/15 year old KM get to swampscott from a neighboring town, with a bat in hand, in the middle of winter? ride a bike? take a bus? walk? Seems like people would have seen him...and reported to the police that they had seen him after news broke that a kid had been murdered with a bat.

I believe the murderer was a kid who lived in the immediate area.
Click to expand...

It was also a school day. Just a couple of hours after class before dark and expected at home. Anyone Henry's age wouldn't have a car yet or a DL for that matter. Someone from out of town would also have to arrange a meeting by phone, which parents or siblings would have noticed in those days. No cell phones, usually only 1 phone at home, sometimes with an extension. With a few teens at home, they probably had to take turns. My mom used to make us use the oven timer - set for 15 minutes. Everyone knew who everyone else was talking to.

Seems more likely it would be someone he saw every day at school or someone he saw occasionally from the high school.
 
Hey, I hear ya, but if it was a local kid, people would still see him or her walking back home. Also, leaves were off the trees so less cover to hide in. The bat was left at the scene, so it very well could have been part of the community or hang out space. I don't think distance was a tremendous factor. Could have been an older teen who had a car or an accomplice who drove them. Again, if bat was always there at the scene, nobody would see someone leaving with a bat. It's a Friday in december...people are inside, doors and windows closed because it's winter. The theory that the killer was a local kid logistically makes sense, but it's the same theory that has been out there for 45 years and has yielded nothing...
 
Tommy2step said:
Hey, I hear ya, but if it was a local kid, people would still see him or her walking back home. Also, leaves were off the trees so less cover to hide in. The bat was left at the scene, so it very well could have been part of the community or hang out space. I don't think distance was a tremendous factor. Could have been an older teen who had a car or an accomplice who drove them. Again, if bat was always there at the scene, nobody would see someone leaving with a bat. It's a Friday in december...people are inside, doors and windows closed because it's winter. The theory that the killer was a local kid logistically makes sense, but it's the same theory that has been out there for 45 years and has yielded nothing...
Click to expand...

All good points. It's possible. If the bat was already there, it wouldn't have been premeditated. Most likely a disagreement that really escalated with someone who felt really threatened or already had a violent temper. If the bat had been left there, though, you'd think some of the other kids, especially Henry's friends, would have recognized it. Could be they hadn't been there in quite a long time. Working the previous summer at his dad's gas station, Henry probably didn't have time to hang out there much. I wish we could hear more from kids who hung out there, more about how often, what times of day, did they camp out there, how many kids hung out there, etc. Was it kids hanging out, playing cards? Smoking? Drinking beer? Or more tame activities? Did they hike there or ride bikes? Anyone drive up there in a car to hang out?
 
I've heard mixed things about how popular it was. But SV is a short walk into the woods at the end of a quiet street. Not something that can be traversed by bike or car. Leaving my car parked on that street for 5 minutes got me dirty looks from neighbors.

I've seen some comments saying the bat was the kind used by the school baseball team, but none of the coaches recognized it. No one who went to SV recognized it either. Maybe it was a student's at-home-practice bat or an alternate? Maybe someone expected to make the league so they bought equipment but didn't end up playing?

Sorry to be a little graphic here, but it sounds like the murderer used the bat as a club, instead of using it to hit Henry with a swinging motion. Not the motion you would expect someone with baseball or golf experience to use.

I'm surprised the police think it could have been random. SV isn't a place you stumble upon by accident. It's literally into the woods at the end of a residential neighborhood street. I really think this was a townie kid who lived close by. Someone who wouldn't be seen as threatening if he was walking down the street with a baseball bat.

The last thing I wanted to mention is that KM has been arrested before so I'm sure if his fingerprints were a match, this case would have been solved at that point.
 
UnlicensedPI said:
I've heard mixed things about how popular it was. But SV is a short walk into the woods at the end of a quiet street. Not something that can be traversed by bike or car. Leaving my car parked on that street for 5 minutes got me dirty looks from neighbors.

I've seen some comments saying the bat was the kind used by the school baseball team, but none of the coaches recognized it. No one who went to SV recognized it either. Maybe it was a student's at-home-practice bat or an alternate? Maybe someone expected to make the league so they bought equipment but didn't end up playing?

Sorry to be a little graphic here, but it sounds like the murderer used the bat as a club, instead of using it to hit Henry with a swinging motion. Not the motion you would expect someone with baseball or golf experience to use.

I'm surprised the police think it could have been random. SV isn't a place you stumble upon by accident. It's literally into the woods at the end of a residential neighborhood street. I really think this was a townie kid who lived close by. Someone who wouldn't be seen as threatening if he was walking down the street with a baseball bat.

The last thing I wanted to mention is that KM has been arrested before so I'm sure if his fingerprints were a match, this case would have been solved at that point.
Click to expand...

Sorry if I'd missed that detail before - so the killer brought the bat with him. It was premeditated. A bat isn't the kind of weapon you bring along unless you want to do someone serious harm. When using a baseball bat, one can't say "I only meant to give him a tap, I didn't mean to hurt him".

Even today, this is such an unusual crime to happen between young high school kids. Aside from the occasional, but horrible school shootings, you just don't hear of students killing each other in cold murderous rage at that age. Unless it involved gang activity or drug trafficking. That seems unlikely.

This had to be someone with some severe mental, emotional problems - a real psychopath. Young teens just don't usually do this kind of thing unless they're mentally ill. This person had to have gone on to a life filled with more problems, probably more violent behavior. Wouldn't be surprised if they spent time in jail or prison. Very unlikely they just went about their life, married the high school sweetheart, got a job and raised a family as if nothing happened.
 
Betty P said:
Sorry if I'd missed that detail before - so the killer brought the bat with him. It was premeditated. A bat isn't the kind of weapon you bring along unless you want to do someone serious harm. When using a baseball bat, one can't say "I only meant to give him a tap, I didn't mean to hurt him".

Even today, this is such an unusual crime to happen between young high school kids. Aside from the occasional, but horrible school shootings, you just don't hear of students killing each other in cold murderous rage at that age. Unless it involved gang activity or drug trafficking. That seems unlikely.

This had to be someone with some severe mental, emotional problems - a real psychopath. Young teens just don't usually do this kind of thing unless they're mentally ill. This person had to have gone on to a life filled with more problems, probably more violent behavior. Wouldn't be surprised if they spent time in jail or prison. Very unlikely they just went about their life, married the high school sweetheart, got a job and raised a family as if nothing happened.
Click to expand...
I think there's a possibility they brought the bat to threaten Henry but didn't intend to use it. It's also possible the killer was a victim/witness of physical abuse at home. This seems like an explosion of pent up rage. I personally think it's someone who lives a normal life but has a bad temper.
 
UnlicensedPI said:
I think there's a possibility they brought the bat to threaten Henry but didn't intend to use it. It's also possible the killer was a victim/witness of physical abuse at home. This seems like an explosion of pent up rage. I personally think it's someone who lives a normal life but has a bad temper.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I think. The suspect took the bat to scare Henry. He lost his cool and lot of pent up tage came out. Likely the suspect was a victim of abuse

I kind of doubt the suspect has spent time in prison. I bet his life has been relatively normal. Likely he has had a problem with alcohol and drug abuse
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 179 more.
Total: 3,971 (members: 180, guests: 3,791)

Online statistics

Members online
180
Guests online
3,791
Total visitors
3,971
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,844
Messages
17,959,924
Members
228,622
Latest member
crimedeepdives23
Back
Top