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

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

As I've posted before, I do believe the motive for Henry's murder was money. I dont believe Henry owed anyone money. From all accounts he had saved up a nice sum from working for his dad

I believe a kid owed him money. He attempted to collect. The kid told henry to meet him after school at SV and he'd have the money. The kid takes the bat in attempt to scare Henry into backing off

I do not believe the killer intended on using the bat. For some reason...he did. After he swung once, a lot of pent up rage and anger came spilling out

 

[Tommy2step]

I think you bring a weapon if you intend to use it. Intimidation, yes. But you know you might need to use it. I agree with everyone, rage took this to another level...but over some money?? I think it goes deeper. Like a girl and jealousy or something similar. I'm still learning toward an adult or older teen. A 14 or 15 year old kid will break on being questioned, but not an adult or 20 year old.

 

[Betty P]

As I've posted before, I do believe the motive for Henry's murder was money. I dont believe Henry owed anyone money. From all accounts he had saved up a nice sum from working for his dad

I believe a kid owed him money. He attempted to collect. The kid told henry to meet him after school at SV and he'd have the money. The kid takes the bat in attempt to scare Henry into backing off

I do not believe the killer intended on using the bat. For some reason...he did. After he swung once, a lot of pent up rage and anger came spilling out

Welcome, PerhapsIt's You!

I agree, his family reports Henry had saved up a lot of money he earned working for his dad. IIRC, he was planning to buy a car. It seems unlikely he would have been borrowing from someone else.

The more this theory is discussed, the more plausible it seems.

 

[Tommy2step]

I get the saving up for a car and pursuing a debt owed on Henry's part. But if I'm the other kid, am I willing to kill Henry to weasel out of some bucks I owe? I guess it's possible. So, if it was another kid, if you're looking at the kid he got into an argument with at school , was he ever questioned? What about kids he was known to associate with in the area.? In the tv special that was done on the case, Henry's girlfriend said a group of kids had been harassing them a week or so before the murder, so did LE track them down? I'd like to think so, but you never know. Another thing to consider, this happened in mid December-way after leaves have fallen off the trees. A kid coming out of the woods all bloodied up is going to be noticed. That same kid is still worked up after the rage that consumed him. It's not the kind of thing that can be turned off and on...unless you've done it before.

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

I wonder how many kids were questioned by the police

Honestly, I cant blame any parent (or attorney) for refusing the police's request to interrogate a minor.

 

[StarrChance]

I wonder how many kids were questioned by the police

Honestly, I cant blame any parent (or attorney) for refusing the police's request to interrogate a minor.

From a 2004 newspaper article (which is quite detailed)
16 Dec 2004, 74 - The Boston Globe at Newspapers.com

 

[Tommy2step]

I hear ya. As a dad, it would be difficult to have the police interview my son. There was a show on ID in which the father knew his son committed a crime and went to the police. It was an agonizing decision, but he knew he had to do it. He had to make his son accountable for what he did. If it was a local kid who killed Henry and a parent knew that, how could they live with themslves? If their child was murdered, wouldn't they want someone to step forward with info? And if I'm LE and ask to speak to a young man and the parents "lawyer up", well, now you've moved to the top of my list...

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I hear ya. As a dad, it would be difficult to have the police interview my son. There was a show on ID in which the father knew his son committed a crime and went to the police. It was an agonizing decision, but he knew he had to do it. He had to make his son accountable for what he did. If it was a local kid who killed Henry and a parent knew that, how could they live with themslves? If their child was murdered, wouldn't they want someone to step forward with info? And if I'm LE and ask to speak to a young man and the parents "lawyer up", well, now you've moved to the top of my list...

You'd be surprised at what kids around here get away with. I can see this either being someone from the "Lynn side" of Swampscott (who possibly had drug issues), or your typical affluent student athlete who is invincible because adults treat him that way. Not every parent is so willing to hold their children accountable -- just look at Brock Turner's father!

 

[Tommy2step]

Good point! I didn't consider the pampered punk theory, but that does make sense. Seems like more than a few people in the community are aware of the guilty party and find it okay...glad I didn't grow up in Swampscott.

 

[UnlicensedPI]

Good point! I didn't consider the pampered punk theory, but that does make sense. Seems like more than a few people in the community are aware of the guilty party and find it okay...glad I didn't grow up in Swampscott.

Given the Facebook group full of people from the town trying to crack the mystery, I don't think there's any great awareness of the guilty party. Maybe the kid and their parents (who could have died by now). This is definitely not a case of the whole community protecting a murderer.

That being said, I really love the phrase "pampered punk!"

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

I strongly believe the parent(s) of the perp at the very least suspected their child was the killer. They likely saw or heard something. Im sure it was a bloody crime. Blood on the clothes etc. The parent(s) are likely long deceased now.

What is the FB group?

 

[UnlicensedPI]

I strongly believe the parent(s) of the perp at the very least suspected their child was the killer. They likely saw or heard something. Im sure it was a bloody crime. Blood on the clothes etc. The parent(s) are likely long deceased now.

What is the FB group?

There's a private/secret Facebook group about the case. I think Henry's sister runs it.

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

what good is it to be private? this case needs exposure

 

[Betty P]

what good is it to be private? this case needs exposure

It's not unusual for family members, friends, etc to do this on social media to discuss the unsolved murder of a loved one.

One reason for privacy is to avoid public discussion of possible suspects. No point in ruining the reputation of an innocent person. Sometimes they're also subjected to harassment or rude comments from the public. There are a lot of crummy people on the internet who say terrible things to family members of victims.

Pretty sure the family has a public FB page for Henry with information about his murder and whom to contact.

ETA: Lawsuits for slander or libel are also a possibility.

 

[Tommy2step]

I agree that you need to be careful and it's understandable to be concerned about lawsuits...

I just go back to the fact that it's almost 45 years since Henry was murdered. From everything I've read, it destroyed his family. His parents divorced and nothing was the same. His killer didn't just commit one murder... He ruined many lives.

I wonder if anyone who was questioned is still alive...I don't know...put out some info that new testing indicates LE is developing a DNA profile of a suspect..someone who was previously interviewed but there wasn't the technology available at that time...then see if a POI starts to sweat or does something odd...not exactly "fair", but sometimes you have to gamble and make someone call your bluff.

 

[PerhapsIt'sYou]

I wonder if the culprit keeps up with the case.....by doing internet searches, reading this forum etc?

I doubt it. He probably has tried to block it out of his mind. He has probably convinced himself he acted in self defense. How else could you live with yourself for 45 years after beating someone to death.

 

[Tommy2step]

I like your point. I think another poster said the same thing. He may have convinced himself it was completely justified and self-defense. Like the OJ defense, if I believe the lie long enough, it's not a lie...it's my truth. This is why a deathbed confession is not coming. This is why he wouldn't worry about it for 45 years...what's to worry about? He didn't do anything wrong- in his twisted mind

 

[Betty P]

I like your point. I think another poster said the same thing. He may have convinced himself it was completely justified and self-defense. Like the OJ defense, if I believe the lie long enough, it's not a lie...it's my truth. This is why a deathbed confession is not coming. This is why he wouldn't worry about it for 45 years...what's to worry about? He didn't do anything wrong- in his twisted mind

Along those same lines, the person who did this had some severe psychological problems to kill Henry in the first place. Those psych/mental issues were in operation before and after the murder and allowed the killer to feel no guilt about what he did. No conscience. Maybe he was used to not being held accountable to others.

For that reason, JMO, it's likely this killer stood out to other students in school and around town. Maybe not in a big way, but I'd be willing to bet he was someone known to have a temper or to bully others. If he came from a "good" family, his behavior may have been overlooked or dismissed by others.

Another possibility is that he was considered an oddball or loner, someone whose violent tendencies were not obvious due to social isolation.

Regardless, he was a schemer. He was someone who took the time to arrange a place and time for his meeting with Henry and bring along a weapon.

He arranged it in a way that didn't arouse suspicion from Henry.

He was organized enough to escape unnoticed and dispose of evidence (bloody clothes, etc.) before cleaning up and returning to "normal", not an easy task for a minor who still lived at home with his parents. Are we looking for someone whose parents worked and weren't usually there when he got home from school?

Henry's murder doesn't appear to have been an impulsive act, it was planned by someone who could trick Henry into going to that spot that busy afternoon.

Just a hunch, but I suspect some friends and fellow students of Henry's had or have suspicions about the killer. For various reasons, though, they rationalized that it couldn't be him.

JMO

 

[jgfitzge]

Along those same lines, the person who did this had some severe psychological problems to kill Henry in the first place. Those psych/mental issues were in operation before and after the murder and allowed the killer to feel no guilt about what he did. No conscience. Maybe he was used to not being held accountable to others.

For that reason, JMO, it's likely this killer stood out to other students in school and around town. Maybe not in a big way, but I'd be willing to bet he was someone known to have a temper or to bully others. If he came from a "good" family, his behavior may have been overlooked or dismissed by others.

Another possibility is that he was considered an oddball or loner, someone whose violent tendencies were not obvious due to social isolation.

Regardless, he was a schemer. He was someone who took the time to arrange a place and time for his meeting with Henry and bring along a weapon.

He arranged it in a way that didn't arouse suspicion from Henry.

He was organized enough to escape unnoticed and dispose of evidence (bloody clothes, etc.) before cleaning up and returning to "normal", not an easy task for a minor who still lived at home with his parents. Are we looking for someone whose parents worked and weren't usually there when he got home from school?

Henry's murder doesn't appear to have been an impulsive act, it was planned by someone who could trick Henry into going to that spot that busy afternoon.

Just a hunch, but I suspect some friends and fellow students of Henry's had or have suspicions about the killer. For various reasons, though, they rationalized that it couldn't be him.

JMO

Yet not organized enough that he left the murder weapon, namely the baseball bat.

 

[BlackCloud]

I wonder if the culprit keeps up with the case.....by doing internet searches, reading this forum etc?

I doubt it. He probably has tried to block it out of his mind. He has probably convinced himself he acted in self defense. How else could you live with yourself for 45 years after beating someone to death.

I'm sure there are many people who have beaten somebody to death and live their life good.
Some people have no soul at all.