georgiagirl
Opinionated Southern Belle
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I don't think there is another thread about this one...
I was trying to find updates on this case, but there does not seem to be any info online.
TV show yields possible clues in case of the murdered Boston heiress
By Terrence Petty, Associated Press 07/09/99
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Ever since the skeleton of transvestite dog breeder Camilla Lyman was found in the muck of her septic tank nearly two years ago, detectives have struggled to find solid clues that would help unmask her killer.
But now, important new clues may have been turned up after the bizarre tale was broadcast on the popular TV show "Unsolved Mysteries," says a private detective helping police.
The daughter of a prominent Bostonian, Lyman vanished from her 40-acre estate in rural Hopkinton in 1987. No one immediately told police she was missing, not even her supposed friends. There was talk she'd gone to Europe for a sex change. There was no sign of Lyman until 1997, when her body was found in the septic tank by two men who had just purchased her house.
"Unsolved Mysteries" recounted the story on June 11.
Police admit they've had trouble turning up reliable evidence and witnesses that could lead to an arrest for Lyman's murder.
But five people who knew Lyman have come forward with information about goings-on at the Hopkinton property that occurred before her disappearance, said Charles John Allen, a private investigator working for Lyman's relatives.
One of the prospective informants called the TV show "and they passed her on to me," Allen said.
Allen said he learned of the four others as a result of his contact with the caller and that he's spoken with them.
One prospective informant in particular "appears to be a person with information very damaging" to certain people, said Allen, who spent nine years doggedly looking for Lyman before her corpse turned up in the septic tank.
Allen says the information could also be helpful in his search for up to $4 million worth of missing antiques, jewelry and other assets that had belonged to Camilla Lyman.
Allen said he couldn't go into details. But he said the new information -- if accurate -- could be a break in the case. He has given the information, and the names of the people who provided it, to police.
Hopkinton Police Chief John Scuncio acknowledged the TV show resulted in "a few tips" but he refused to go into details.
This has stirred hope among Lyman's relatives.
"We need to bring the person who committed this unbelievable crime to justice," said Mary Margaret Goodale, one of Lyman's two sisters.
Camilla Lyman was the daughter of Arthur T. Lyman, who before his death in 1968 had more than 30 years of public service in Massachusetts, including stints as commissioner of corrections and commissioner of conservation.
The reclusive spinster moved into a large Victorian house in Hopkinton, not far from the Connecticut border, in 1984 after selling the Lyman family homestead in Westwood, a Boston suburb.
She grew a mustache with the help of steroids intended for her dogs, sported a short haircut and tweed jackets, and changed her name to the more masculine Cam -- all the while becoming alienated from her siblings.
A small circle of trusted associates living around Hopkinton took care of Lyman's practical matters, leaving the heiress to devote herself to her champion Clumber spaniels.
George O'Neil, a fellow dog breeder and her best friend, paid Lyman's bills, picked up her mail, had power of attorney over her affairs and was the sole beneficiary in her will. Others also helped take care of the Hopkinton property.
The 54-year-old Lyman vanished in July 1987, and no one alerted police.
Lyman's siblings grew concerned when an elderly friend of the family said she had not received the customary Christmas card from Camilla. Goodale wrote to Camilla asking if she was all right. She got no reply.
Allen was hired by the Lyman family in 1988 to find out what happened to Camilla.
After six years of searching turned up no sign of Lyman, in 1994 her siblings filed a petition in Hopkinton Probate Court asking that she be declared dead. This was done to keep an estimated $2 million in family trust funds from falling into the wrong hands.
A probate court judge declared Lyman legally dead in June 1995.
After the body pulled out of the septic tank was identified as Lyman's, family members at least knew she was no longer alive.
The question is, who killed her? Detectives have questioned a number of people, including O'Neil, who says he was Lyman's friend, not her murderer.
I was trying to find updates on this case, but there does not seem to be any info online.
TV show yields possible clues in case of the murdered Boston heiress
By Terrence Petty, Associated Press 07/09/99
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Ever since the skeleton of transvestite dog breeder Camilla Lyman was found in the muck of her septic tank nearly two years ago, detectives have struggled to find solid clues that would help unmask her killer.
But now, important new clues may have been turned up after the bizarre tale was broadcast on the popular TV show "Unsolved Mysteries," says a private detective helping police.
The daughter of a prominent Bostonian, Lyman vanished from her 40-acre estate in rural Hopkinton in 1987. No one immediately told police she was missing, not even her supposed friends. There was talk she'd gone to Europe for a sex change. There was no sign of Lyman until 1997, when her body was found in the septic tank by two men who had just purchased her house.
"Unsolved Mysteries" recounted the story on June 11.
Police admit they've had trouble turning up reliable evidence and witnesses that could lead to an arrest for Lyman's murder.
But five people who knew Lyman have come forward with information about goings-on at the Hopkinton property that occurred before her disappearance, said Charles John Allen, a private investigator working for Lyman's relatives.
One of the prospective informants called the TV show "and they passed her on to me," Allen said.
Allen said he learned of the four others as a result of his contact with the caller and that he's spoken with them.
One prospective informant in particular "appears to be a person with information very damaging" to certain people, said Allen, who spent nine years doggedly looking for Lyman before her corpse turned up in the septic tank.
Allen says the information could also be helpful in his search for up to $4 million worth of missing antiques, jewelry and other assets that had belonged to Camilla Lyman.
Allen said he couldn't go into details. But he said the new information -- if accurate -- could be a break in the case. He has given the information, and the names of the people who provided it, to police.
Hopkinton Police Chief John Scuncio acknowledged the TV show resulted in "a few tips" but he refused to go into details.
This has stirred hope among Lyman's relatives.
"We need to bring the person who committed this unbelievable crime to justice," said Mary Margaret Goodale, one of Lyman's two sisters.
Camilla Lyman was the daughter of Arthur T. Lyman, who before his death in 1968 had more than 30 years of public service in Massachusetts, including stints as commissioner of corrections and commissioner of conservation.
The reclusive spinster moved into a large Victorian house in Hopkinton, not far from the Connecticut border, in 1984 after selling the Lyman family homestead in Westwood, a Boston suburb.
She grew a mustache with the help of steroids intended for her dogs, sported a short haircut and tweed jackets, and changed her name to the more masculine Cam -- all the while becoming alienated from her siblings.
A small circle of trusted associates living around Hopkinton took care of Lyman's practical matters, leaving the heiress to devote herself to her champion Clumber spaniels.
George O'Neil, a fellow dog breeder and her best friend, paid Lyman's bills, picked up her mail, had power of attorney over her affairs and was the sole beneficiary in her will. Others also helped take care of the Hopkinton property.
The 54-year-old Lyman vanished in July 1987, and no one alerted police.
Lyman's siblings grew concerned when an elderly friend of the family said she had not received the customary Christmas card from Camilla. Goodale wrote to Camilla asking if she was all right. She got no reply.
Allen was hired by the Lyman family in 1988 to find out what happened to Camilla.
After six years of searching turned up no sign of Lyman, in 1994 her siblings filed a petition in Hopkinton Probate Court asking that she be declared dead. This was done to keep an estimated $2 million in family trust funds from falling into the wrong hands.
A probate court judge declared Lyman legally dead in June 1995.
After the body pulled out of the septic tank was identified as Lyman's, family members at least knew she was no longer alive.
The question is, who killed her? Detectives have questioned a number of people, including O'Neil, who says he was Lyman's friend, not her murderer.