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

[Tommy2step]

Not that LE would ever say so, but does anyone know if any dirt was collected under or around Henry's body? I watched a story about the murder of Barbara Rocky from Utah in early 1974 and the original investigators took soil samples from under her and years later new techniques yielded a DNA profile of the killer who was subsequently arrested. Both crimes occurred in the same year - way before DNA
Technology existed - but the Utah detectives had the presence of mind to collect this.

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

This isn't a case of 'bullying getting out of hand"

This was flat out rage, and it was personal.

 

[Daphne1972]

I happened upon this case. I think the bat inscription says K1 and a depiction of a dagger. I have seen K1 daggers/knifes on the internet but I don't know if they were around in 1974.

 

[EndlessEnigma]

I happened upon this case. I think the bat inscription says K1 and a depiction of a dagger. I have seen K1 daggers/knifes on the internet but I don't know if they were around in 1974.

Police believe it to be a Roman VI or K. Some have noticed the dagger. The 1 is factory etched and describes the size of the bat. This is a frustrating case. Unsolved for too long.

 

[Daphne1972]

Police believe it to be a Roman VI or K. Some have noticed the dagger. The 1 is factory etched and describes the size of the bat. This is a frustrating case. Unsolved for too long.

Dagger is actually a last name! Could this bat have belonged to a K Dagger?

 

[Daphne1972]

If indeed VI, maybe it's a reference to the Roman sixth legion.

Legio VI Victrix - Wikipedia

 

[Daphne1972]

I went to Swampscott View today! I'm sure it looks a little different in the summer, it was very lush. I didn't go all the way into it because honestly I did a crappy parking job and the neighbors were very nosy (that's actually pretty notable IMO). It was a little difficult to navigate the trail. Lots of branches and plants. I could see a large grassy area beyond where i was standing. It reminded me so much of the place my friends and I would hang out when i was a young teenager.

I can't get the pictures to upload right now, but I'll figure out a way.

Anyways, I entered the trail through Suffolk Ave. It's extremely residential (think of the neighborhoods in Hocus Pocus) with lots of people currently outside since it's summer. I pulled over and parked, and immediately a woman on a bicycle rang her bell and waved at me. I went into the trail for just a few minutes. There was more to go but being alone and noticed by neighbors, I didn't want to hang around for too long. I could see what looked like a bench further in. It was surprisingly secluded, especially deeper, but not from noise. It doesn't look like it gets much use anymore. When I left the trail, the woman who waved at me asked me if I had been looking for a lost dog. I said luckily I hadn't lost a dog, I had heard it used to be a popular hangout and was just curious. It seems like the type of neighborhood where people notice anything suspicious, so I'm surprised nobody did for Henry's murder.

Just in case anyone isn't familiar with the nuance, waving at a stranger in your neighborhood here is like a southerner telling someone, "Bless your heart." It seems nice but it actually means I see you, you don't belong here, you're suspicious, you're threatening, i'm watching you, get out.

Let me try to upload the pictures. Apologies in advance, im not a photographer.

I think my next step is going to be looking for info from the library and possibly the high school library or athletic department. I'm also going to try to make contact with an old friend whose dad almost went MLB, I think he grew up in Swampscott and might be the right age. You never know when poking and prodding might shake something loose!

But did you conclude it was a short cut? I'm new to this case, but drawn in by the bat.
Furthermore, have girls ever been looked at? The bat is easy for a weaker individual to use as murder tool. But, having said that, from which direction(s) did the blows come?

Edit: another poster and local stated that it wasn't a short cut.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

But did you conclude it was a short cut? I'm new to this case, but drawn in by the bat.
Furthermore, have girls ever been looked at? The bat is easy for a weaker individual to use as murder tool. But, having said that, from which direction(s) did the blows come?

I couldn't make a conclusion about it being a shortcut or not because it was so overgrown and hadn't been used in a long time. I don't know what it was like in the 70s but it sounds like it could have been a shortcut based on some of the maps posted earlier in the thread.

 

[Daphne1972]

I couldn't make a conclusion about it being a shortcut or not because it was so overgrown and hadn't been used in a long time. I don't know what it was like in the 70s but it sounds like it could have been a shortcut based on some of the maps posted earlier in the thread.

Thx, I read the local's messages: not a short cut.

 

[WSFalcon]

I can confirm that it was not a short cut home for Henry. I can also confirm that it really was not a short cut for anyone unless you happened to live bordering that area of the old train tracks & wooded area. It was not easy to get up there.

I grew up <1/2 mile from there, walked the streets by there, hung-out, played at that park nearby and walked by that area to the baseball fields up near where Henry lived and never cut thru there and I believe most of my friends never did either. There were plenty of short cuts in town with the old tracks and thru the woods that we took or hung out in on a regular basis but that area was not one. In fact I never heard it called the Swampscott View until years later when the story was being re-told.

I have not thought of this until now, but the night Henry went missing, it was reported that his friends searched with adults in woods in town but I do not believe they went up there at all, including one friend who was searching that happened to live <1/2 mile from there. So it would seem that his friends did not view it as a short cut or maybe not even a hang out for Henry and them.

That said, teenagers like to veer off, take woods, etc. even if it is not a short cut so he certainly could have gone up there on a whim to meander home but could also have been meeting someone up there too.

 

[Daphne1972]

I can confirm that it was not a short cut home for Henry. I can also confirm that it really was not a short cut for anyone unless you happened to live bordering that area of the old train tracks & wooded area. It was not easy to get up there.

I grew up <1/2 mile from there, walked the streets by there, hung-out, played at that park nearby and walked by that area to the baseball fields up near where Henry lived and never cut thru there and I believe most of my friends never did either. There were plenty of short cuts in town with the old tracks and thru the woods that we took or hung out in on a regular basis but that area was not one. In fact I never heard it called the Swampscott View until years later when the story was being re-told.

I have not thought of this until now, but the night Henry went missing, it was reported that his friends searched with adults in woods in town but I do not believe they went up there at all, including one friend who was searching that happened to live <1/2 mile from there. So it would seem that his friends did not view it as a short cut or maybe not even a hang out for Henry and them.

That said, teenagers like to veer off, take woods, etc. even if it is not a short cut so he certainly could have gone up there on a whim to meander home but could also have been meeting someone up there too.

I think he met up and it needed to be a secret. Either his wish, the other one's wish or both wishes.

I noticed that he looked mature for his age and was quite handsome. So I'm leaning towards matters of the heart. I doubt that people just happen to carry a bat. So either it was premeditated or the killer realized he/she had a handy murder weapon. Furthermore, either he/she didn't care about the shed below or assumed it to be empty.

What stood out to me, is his showing off his bag containing the gift to the workers. Why?

How do we even know the perfume was indeed for his sister?

 

[seichem745]

EndlessEngima wrote a few weeks ago....."Right. I heard the killer was from a prominent family who protected him."

So I was wondering why did seichem745 state .." "protected" was misstated from post on this site. " when they were not the one that wrote protected?

because prominent family was written here on this site, i have never "read' anywhere that the perps were protected. prominent could mean many things. the person on this site stated that his friend who was giving him info about the case was afraid of the people he believes committed the crime. he wont even tell his friend who the people are because as he stated i am afraid for my life and the safety of my family. in at least this one persons mind the people he says he knows killed henry are dangerous people today, in real time. I feel that fear is part of the reason this case isnt talked about as well as human nature, people would rather not know the answer, especially in todays world where people may be wondering if the killers are facebook friends with them?

The original local police leaders/investigators stated previously that they felt it was a local kid that he knew and stated that they interviewed many people.
If it was a local or kid from town, one thing that is a bit surprising to me is how quiet it was kept for years in a relatively small, tight knit town. I was not the exact same age but growing up in town I never heard any real suspects names thrown about. From what I understand and have read, even kids the same age as Henry did not seem to have an idea.
Of course there was no internet or social media back then, so it was certainly easier to keep things quiet back then, as well as also easier to prevent rumors from being thrown about, which may not be a bad thing vs. today.

fear could be a reason. another reason could be that you have no real proof so why talk *advertiser censored*? why put yourself in danger if all you have is speculation? there is no evidence. i would imagine over the years with friends in trusted company there have been many conversations, even by the killers themselves. it was stated on this site that the rumors from day one were older kids did it. i dont know anyone who can verify that. now with it being openly stated that "we know who was there and can't prove a thing" those people are having conversations.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

"On the morning of Henry’s death, he was seen by Mr. Spencer at school arguing with another student over what seemed to be “money”. Both Henry and that student were missing from their last period class. They were marked absent. Mr. Spencer has since passed away. If anyone else witnessed this argument and knows who the student was, please let me know privately. Thank you. Send private information to Cheryl."
Case News

 

[Smiling Faces]

Police believe it to be a Roman VI

That former youth baseball coach (who liked to take a couple of the boys for ice cream) always numbered his "bats" with Roman Numerals. He was full of rage (if he had a reason) and he molested young girls. One told about how if he didn't continue at her age when she got her period that he would "Kill" her parents. I heard that his daughter was very interested in Henry. I also think he liked boys and never talked about this incident to anybody nor did he attend the funeral. Just saying...It's a "possibility" something got his SO raged up! ? ? ?

 

[WSFalcon]

"On the morning of Henry’s death, he was seen by Mr. Spencer at school arguing with another student over what seemed to be “money”. Both Henry and that student were missing from their last period class. They were marked absent. Mr. Spencer has since passed away. If anyone else witnessed this argument and knows who the student was, please let me know privately. Thank you. Send private information to Cheryl."
Case News

Thanks. I had read that before. What I was wondering was not so much where was it in writing but where this report quoted to Mr. Spencer first came from, when did he first tell someone and who did he tell?
Is it documented in police reports back from the 70s during the initial investigation? Or does it appear years later? Is it from Mr. Spencer himself, or is it being retold years later by someone saying Mr. Spencer told somebody that.....
This posting is in 2011, 37 years after Henry died, Mr. Spencer died a # of years ago (I am not sure what year he passed away). It sounds like it could be a very important clue worth the authorities looking into but to me it also sounds like depending who the information came from it could be a little suspect.

 

[Daphne1972]

December 28th 1974 article mentions that he had dropped a film role to be developed at a store. What was on it??

See his sister's site for the article. Case News

 

[seichem745]

I believe he was lured and was expecting to meet someone else, I also believe it wasn't planned to be murder, more intimidation. like i said before i think something happened previously and had months to fester in the mind of the killer. lone nut/psychopath does not fit for the location or the town or Henry going out of his way to take that route. I believe it was personal. When the person said "wrong place wrong time" I believe she was talking about motive not about what happened on Dec 16th. Is there any way to find out who lived on that block in 1974?

 

[Daphne1972]

I believe he was lured and was expecting to meet someone else, I also believe it wasn't planned to be murder, more intimidation. like i said before i think something happened previously and had months to fester in the mind of the killer. lone nut/psychopath does not fit for the location or the town or Henry going out of his way to take that route. I believe it was personal. When the person said "wrong place wrong time" I believe she was talking about motive not about what happened on Dec 16th. Is there any way to find out who lived on that block in 1974?

Yes I also lean towards him being lured. I wonder if that perfume was intended for his sister or another girl.

 

[Smiling Faces]

Unkown that he either had an issue with Henry and things got out of hand, and/or perhaps he was also an unknown psychopath or sociopath.
I still wish that a particular coach who fit the above description was questioned more in depth or a polygraph taken. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he "could" do something SO damn sinister. Norfolk Ave.. is that close enough? Damn, though it's like 50 years, i wish that there was some justice!!!!

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Falcon and Enigma you both asked at the same time --

I grew up the next town over from Swampscott. My mom moved to this area from one closer to Boston after Henry had already died. She didn't know about him until after I did. My father grew up in another town on the North Shore and I'd doubt he even knows about Henry. I can't ask him. My uncle (mother's brother) works for a police department nearby but had never heard of this case.